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Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes  /  Notes  technique  et  bibliographiques 


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Original  copia*  in  priniad  papar  covari  ara  fllmad 
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aion.  and  anding  on  tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illuatratad  impra*sion. 


Tha  laat  racordad  frama  on  aach  microficha 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  — ^  (maaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  V  Imaaning  "END"), 
whiehavar  appli**. 

Map*,  plat**,  eharu.  ate.  may  ba  filmad  at 
diffarant  raduction  ratios.  Thosa  too  larga  to  ba 
antiraly  includad  in  ana  axposurs  ara  filmad 
baginning  in  tha  uppar  laft  hand  cornar.  laft  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  framas  as 
raquirad.  Tha  following  diagrama  illustrata  tha 
mathod: 


Las  imagas  auivantas  ont  iii  raproduitas  avac  I* 
plus  grand  sain,  compta  tanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nanatt  da  I'axamplaira  film*,  at  an 
conformit*  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmaga. 

Laa  azamplairas  originaux  dont  la  couvartura  an 
papiar  aat  imprimaa  sont  film**  an  eommanpant 
par  la  pramiar  plat  at  an  tarminant  soit  par  la 
darniara  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'imprauion  ou  d'illu*tr*tion.  soit  par  la  sacond 
plat,  salon  la  eas.  Tous  laa  autras  axamplairas 
originaux  sont  filmts  an  commandant  par  la 
pramiira  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'impraasion  ou  d'illustration  at  an  tarminant  par 
la  darnitra  paga  qui  comporta  una  taiia 
amprainta. 

Un  daa  symbolaa  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
darniira  imaga  da  chaqua  microficha.  salon  la 
eas:  la  symbola  —^  signifia  "A  SUIVRE".  la 
symbola  V  signifi*  "FIN". 

L**  cartaa.  plancha*.  ubiaaux.  ate.  pauvant  atra 
film**  i  daa  uux  da  reduction  diff*rants. 
Lorsqua  la  documant  ast  trap  grand  pour  itra 
raproduit  an  un  saul  clich*.  il  ast  film*  *  psrtir 
da  I'angla  sup*riaur  gaucha.  da  gaucha  *  droita. 
at  da  haut  an  baa,  an  pranant  la  nombra 
d'imagaa  nOcassaira.  Las  diagrammaa  suivants 
illustrant  la  m*thoda. 


1  2  3 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

MICtOCOPY   ■ISOIUTKJN  TEST  CHA>T 

(ANSI  ond  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


js   applied 


jE      In 


S^  '653   East   Moin  Stre. 

r*,^  Rochesler.   Neo   York         i,609       USA 

'SS  (716)   482  -  0300  ~  Phone 

^S:  (716)   288  -  5989  -  Fox 


y--^- 


"FETTERS    WERE   THEN    PUT   UPON    HER    HANDS,   AND   SHE   WEST    FOKIH 

FROM  THE  HOUSE  BETWEEN  TWO  CONSTABLES,  PRECEnKl)  IIV  THE  TOWN 

MARSHAL   AND   ACCOMPANIED   BY   A   MOTLEY  CROWD." 


k  raid    (\c  Lace\ 's 

U)).';\!.\(,    ;)AVS 
A\\.\    •     .ADLIl.K 


"     i     KENKOi    &;   SdNS 
1916 


.  AM.  SIM  A 
-  I'RKrli  •.'.  I! 
■J     r.  I.-V    ;  It.  V! 


Gerald    de  Lacey's 
Daughter 

AN   HISTORICAL   ROMANCE   OF 
COLONIAL  DAYS 


BY 


ANNA  T.  SADLIER 


NEW    YORK 

P.  J.   KENEDY  &  SONS 
1916 


PS? 5 37 


I 


Copyrisht,  igi6,  by 
P.  J.  Kenedy  &  Sons 


Il 


AUTHOR'S  NOTE 

Every  effort  has  been  made  to  secure  the  absolute  ac- 
curacy of  the  historical  facts  on  which  this  story  is  based 
In  the  case  of  Captain  Kidd's  appointment,  however,  it 
was  found  necessary  to  alter  the  date  a  httle  so  that  the 
full  story  of  this  notorious  pirate  might  be  brought  nat- 
urally within  the  scope  of  the  story. 


, 


I. 
II. 
III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 


I. 

II. 

III.' 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 


CONTENTS 

BOOK  I 

Daugbtess  of  Colonial  Days "°l 

A  Colonial  Matron 3 

The  New  Governor ,g 

Jacobite  and  Catholic j. 

New  Faces 

Thomas  Greatbatch,  Smuggler  and  Pirate    .    .  41 

An  Escaped  Bird j. 

Shoals  and  Quicksand 5. 

The  Dawning  of  Love ., 

The  White  Flower  and  the  Eagle gj 

Friends  or  Enemies? _j 

Dangerous  Days j^^ 

Fears  Real  and  Imaginary j,r 

The  Shadow  of  Captain  Kidd 

BOOK  II 

Persecution  Revived j-. 

An  Enemy  Declares  Himself j^ 

Gladness  and  Tears      ,„ 

The  Past  Is  Invoked ,5. 

The  Warning j_- 

A  Staunch  Friend ,-„ 

The  Separation ,g. 

Closer  in  Grief ,„g 

An  Unwelcome  Meeting jog 


^  CONTENTS 

X.  Husband  and  Wife '*»■ 

XI.  Phosser  WnxiAMs'  Resolve '" 

XII.  The  Kekmesse '    _' "' 

XIII.  A  Blow  Theeatens *^' 

XIV.  An  Alliance  of  Hate    . '^ 

XV.  The  Blow  Falls  '^ 

XVI.  A  Nocturnal  Plight  .    .'.".'.■.■ '*' 

XVII.  Safe  with  the  Wilden  '" 

XVIII.  Plotting  Anew  .....'.' **' 

XIX.  Faeewell  to  Manhattan  •••.27 

»9S 

BOOK  III 

I.  Evelyn's  New  Home      

II.  A  Welcome  Visitor    .    .    .    . ''" 

III.  Father  Harvey ^°^ 

IV.  A  New  Confederate      ......''    ^'^ 

V.  A  Clue  Discovered   ...        33°    . 

VI.  A  New  Danger      .......'.'*'    '    ^" 

VII.  Tried  for  Witchcraft '*' 

VIII.  Thf  Rescue   .    .  ^^4 

IX.  A  Reunion     ......'.'.' ^*^ 

X.  A  Counterflot ^'* 

XI.  An  Eavesdrofper  Caught '*' 

'   XII.  The  Tragedy  Off  Sandy  Hook ^'* 

XIII.  An  Ally  Won '.    ' *"* 

XIV.  Conditional  Pardon *'^ 

XV.  An  Offer  of  Marriage  **° 

XVI.  The  Close  of  a  Regime ^ 

XVII.  The  Returned  E:  ile  ■"* 

XVIII.  PiNXTER  Morn    .......'.' **^ 

XIX.  A  Pledge  Redeemed **° 

XX.  Happiness  .  *'' 

467 


GERALD   DE   LACEY'S 
DAUGHTER 


GERALD  DE  LACEY'S 
DAUGHTER 


BOOK  I 

CHAPTER  I 

DAUGHTERS  OF  COLONIAL  DAYS 

A  S^^^^  ^^  rattling  down  the  Boston  Post 
^  Koad,  the  mud  after  the  recent  heavy  rains 
flying  as  the  wheels  splashed  through  it.  while  the 
stones  threatened  to  destroy  the  equilibrium  of  even 
that  sedate  equipage.  It  was  the  carriage  of  the 
Van  Cortlandts,  heavy  and  ponderous,  hanging 
suspended  upon  straps  and  bearing  upon  the  panel 
ot  the  door  the  family  escutcheon  and  motto.  The 
coachman,  who  had  been  long  in  the  service  of  the 
family,  was  a  very  splendid  figure  in  his  Uvery  of 
pale  fawn  color,  laced  with  sUver  and  with  sUver 
upon  his  cocked  hat.  From  the  back  of  the  coach, 
where  he  hung  on  by  the  tassels,  the  negro  foot-boy 
peered  at  this  majestic  personage.  The  foot-boy 
wore  a  hveiy  precisely  identical  with  the  coachman's 
save  that  on  his  head  a  jaunty,  leathern  cap  replaced 
the  cocked  hat. 


2        GERALD  DB  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

,.  J?*.f°*^l™^i.'^  ^"^S^^  the  tedium  of  a  wait 
upon  the  shore  by  some  half-articulateTimihH^ 

he  had  to  dnve  over  such  roads,  even  as  far  f! 
Hwrlem,  to  meet  his  young  lady  and  rfriL^Lu 

^^  n^fure  "Utf  b^/S  ofhfetd  m^^ 
««fv  ^'  .^t  ^^  """"^'y  roUed  his  dark  eves  tS 
nothing  but  the  whites  were  visible  ^nti^t  to 
his  superior^  remarks  just  as  far  as  t  w^Se^? 
Ss^  sh^S^  o?Vr*^  ^''^  interest  t]^^! 
f^STSis?t?e%Z"g  ra'Ses'fn^al-"^"'^ 

EH  r  r  ^^^^^^^^^^ 

van  Cortlandt,  who  ensconced  herself  with  a  riah 
close  the  door,    lie  a5  suS  «it  f^  ^°7.*° 

Oh.  but  I  am  weary  from  standing  on  that 


DAUGHTERS  OF  COLONIAL  DAYS      3 

■cowl"  cried  PoUy,  wj  i  a  sigh  of  pure  content- 
ment. 

H»  friend  looked  at  her  with  some  amusement  and 
a  sn^  that  Mihanced  the  perfection  of  her  mouth. 
^  You  could  have  sat  down,  my  PoUy."  she  said 

"In  truth  I  could,"  returned  Polly,  "upon  one 
of  those  stools  that  made  me  feel  as  though  I  were 

J^n^«^.^'^1?\"P?"  *  '°"8''  ^^'  and  at  any 
mtnnent  might  be  shot  overboard  into  the  middle 
of  the  stream." 

The  other  laughed  a  low  laugh  that  seemed  to 
have  Its  source  in  some  secret  amusement  of  her  own 
Yes,  1  think  standing  were  preferable,  though 
I  contrived  to  keep  my  seat.  But  the  air  was  d^ 
hdous,  so  fresh  and  with  a  touch  of  salt  therein. 
It  IS  a  sweet  morning." 

.♦•i!^®u^°  *f"  into  silence  after  that,  as  the  coach, 
stiU  plting  from  the  unevenness  of  the  road,  con- 
fanued  down  that  highway  which  in  the  year  cf 
Our  Lord,  1698.  led  out  from  the  Colony  of  New 
York—a  tiOe  favored  by  some  as  a  compromise  be- 
tween Its  Indian  name  of  Manhattan  and  its  Dutch 
name  of  New  Amsterdam-to  the  neighboring  col- 
Mues  of  New  England,  even  to  Boston  Town  As 
the  carnage  drove  slowly  past  what  had  once  been 
the  bouwerte  (or  farm)  of  Mynheer  Pieter  Stuyve- 
sant,  a  fcmner  Governor  of  the  colony  under  the 
iJutch  Mid  a  mighty  personage,  the  girl  with  the 
ohve-tmted  skm  leaned  slightly  out  of  the  coach 
wndow  and  regarded  the  building  with  those  eyes 
others  which  so  many  caUed  wonderful.  And  won- 
d«ful  was  the  adjective  that  best  described  them. 
1  hey  were  ht  up  by  so  many  lights  and  were  haunted 
Dy  so  many  expressions,  which  now  appeared  to 


4        GERALD  oe  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

tnm  box-bordered  flower-beds,  wherein  had^'K 
^H-^*?:  *  T^"E  brought  from  HoUand.  S- 
to^tingthese  beds  were  gravelled  pathTwd  aU 
hiS^n  o^  trees-how  ancient  no  maTkneW.  Thw 
had  m  any  case  survived  the  strongest  of  the  Got^ 

K»7?' j*".*^  1**V  "^«  patterns  upon  the  oatL 

E^^  ''^f  f^^^"™"!'"  "^«^  *^«  «>ft  voice  of 
^veijrn.      What  a  figure  he  must  have  cut  in  his 

Po]lv'"^"hn'!1?.  *  r^^  *^*  '"«^**«5  Wm."  cried 
i^ouy.      I  doubt  not  you  have  heard  the  storv     I> 

IttrV^  t"""  ^^^  ^»'"^'  '^ere  swiping  d^  to 
wS1b^J^"^'*i-  ^^^^^^  that  the^cSior 
Xd  if^^^*"^  Stuyvesant.  so  men  say, 
cauea  m  some  Frenchmen  who  were  workino  fo^ 

SweS  'liieT;'^^^.'?^^'^*  help'^defe^S  the' 

SdntrataScT'^'  ^^^  «^^  -^  ^^htt 

liW^^Ji^f  "^^^  ''"■  *P^*'"  coil  rented  Evelyn.    "T 
like  whatever  savors  of  vital  fc  rce  "    Thpn   oL  *i. 
«>ach  rolled  on  its  way.  the  gi^^^ded     ' 'TW^dt' 
Polly,  what  you  and  I  would  have  do^  in  B^^'- 

' «'.  «.,  the  Indians. 


DAUGHTERS  OF  COLONIAL  DAYS      j 

"She  needed  courage,"  Polly  made  answer,  with 
a  shiver.  "If  one  does  but  think  of  being  toma- 
hawked or  scalped  I" 

"Are  you  not  curious,"  inquired  Polly,  with  an 
abrupt  change  of  subject,  "to  see  how  Uuy  will  all 
look  like?" 

"As  full  of  curiosity  as — but  there,  I  cannot  think 
of  a  comparison.  I  cannot  rest,  in  truth,  until  I 
have  seen  them  all  and  heard  whatsoever  there  is  to 
hear  about  them." 

"They  should  arrive  by  two  o'  the  clock  to-day," 
mused  Polly,  "very  soon  after  the  dinner  hour. 

"My  Lord  Bellomont,"  said  Evelyn,  continuing 
her  train  of  thought,  "rfiould  be  shapely  and  tall, 
y,  ith  hair  or  peruke  curling  down  on  his  shoulders." 

"And  his  attire  should  be  gorgeous,"  added  Polly. 
"It  is  said  he  is  bringing  with  him  a  goodish  number 
of  young  officers  and  supemumerari  •." 

"I  wonder  what  else  he  is  bringing,"  Evelyn  said 
to  herself,  in  a  voice  only  half  intended  for  her  com- 
panion's ear,  "of  the  things  that  matter." 

"I  opine, ' ' observed  Polly, looking  admiringly  at  her 
friend,  "that  you  will  go  to  work  with  those  eyes  of 
yours  to  cast  spells  on  some  of  these  newcomers." 

Evelyn  laughed  her  low  laugh  of  genuine  enjoyment. 

"PoUy  Van  Cortlandt  to  speak  thus,  who  has  half 
the  young  men  of  these  colonies  in  her  toils!" 

"Ah  I"  said  Polly,  a  slight  shadow  falling  over  the 
brightness  of  her  face,  "I  have  the  young  men  of 
my  own  Company,'  or  those  boys  with  whom  I 

'  A  peculiar  feature  of  Dutch  colonial  life  was  the  formation  of 
boys  and  girls  (usually  relatives,  or  in  the  same  social  set)  into 
Companies,  with  distmctive  colors,  etc.  All  their  amusements 
were  in  common,  and  the  comradeship  thus  formed  lasted  into 
maturer  years,  so  that  marriages  were  frequent  amongst  members 
of  the  same  Company. 


6        GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

of  S^r"^  -^'^-t  bitte^'ess.  burvSth  something 
Then  sheldded^  ^^  ''°"^'  ^'^  ^^^^  fo""  •«•" 

have^^'anTtha^^  girls  together,  "that  they 

EachkS^d  eaS  o^t  nf .^'^  -'^^  P^^^^*'" 
her.  and  PoUy  cEfo^^  ^  *^^  '^'^''^  nearest 
could,  what  wS^f^»  ^  ?^^°  *°  fin<^  out.  if  he 
and  ^hltr  ^  n'w  G^^lr  had*'"^  '^^^ 
negro  came  back  br^Thle^  f? ^  \  ^T^Yf^-  The 
but  onlv  thpcT.ot^I    ^"  "was  not  the  Governor 

sail  do;4The^a?  a  c^lif  ^"r^"  ^^°  w««  to 
Excellency.  ^      ^^^  distance  to  meet  His 

bro^h^UrSkTo  thatiS  ,"P''"  '^'  -^y-  -d 
Sti^el  vWth'i^ JheckS^tri^l^  St ?  ^""° 
shaped  wmdows  and  the  entr^ce^^aSveS 


DAUGHTERS  OF  COLONIAL  DAYS       y 

were  wrought  in  massive  iron  the  family  initials 
and  the  year  when  the  house  was  built.    There  too 
was  the  stoepe,  with  its  benches  whereon  the  girls 
had  so  often  sat  and  talked  of  that  event  wWch  was 
now  at  hand — the  arrival  of  a  new  Governor.    His 
coming  had  been  of  special  interest,  because  it  was 
believed  that,  as  he  occupied  an  exalted  position 
both  socially  and  politically,  he  would  be  lUsiely  to 
restore  to  the  gubernatorial  residence  some  of  that 
state  and  elegance  which  had  been  sadly  lacking 
during  the  last  regime.    It  was  rumored  also  that 
he  would  bring  with  him  a  brilliant  staff  and  many 
celebrities.    The  whispers  that  had  reaflfcd  Man- 
hattan concerning  my  Lady  Bellomont  as  to  her 
eccentric — ^not  to  say,  scandalous — conduct,  had  only 
whetted  public  curiosity,  and  particularly  that  of  the 
female  sex.     Evelyn  had  often  wondered  how  so  gay 
a  dame  as  they  had  heard  described  would  fit  into 
the  small  life  of  that  dorp,  which  had  become  a  city. 
The  foot-boy  sounded  the  great  silver  knocker 
on  the  door,  and  the  two  occupants  of  the  coach, 
dismoimting,  suddenly  became  conscious  of  the  him- 
ger  engendered  by  their  long  drive  and  the  previous 
sail  over  the  salt  water.    For  their  nostrils  were  re- 
galed with  savory  and  mingled  odors  from  within 
— ^roast  goose  with  its  gamishings,  pound-cake  and 
crullers,  coffee  and  spiced  wine.    They  covild  scarcely 
wait  till,  having  divested  themselves  of  their  outer 
wrappings,  they  heard  the  gong  sound  in  the  hall, 
answering  to  the  striking  of  that  clock  which  but 
of  late  was  a  novelty  in  the  colony.    It  announced 
in  clear,  musical  tones  the  hour  of  noon  and  dinner. 


CHAPTER  II 


A  COLONIAL  MATRON 


AT  the  head  of  the  table,  presiding  with  much 
grace  and  dignity,  sat  the  grandmother  with 
whom  Polly  Van  Cortlandt  had  lived  since  her 
childhood  and  the  death  of  that  relative's  husband. 
Vrow  Van  Cortlandt — or  Madam  Van  Cortlandt,  as 
she  was  more  generally  called — ^was  a  woman  of 
strong  character  and  clear  commonsense,  an  excel- 
lent tjrpe  of  those  matrons  who  were  in  a  very  real 
sense  the  pioneers  of  Manhattan.  Her  dark  eyes 
stiU  sparkled  at  times  with  the  same  light  that  now 
danced  in  Polly's;  her  shrunken  cheeks  showed  a 
mottled  red  where  once  had  been  a  lovely  bloom; 
her  cap,  tied  under  her  chin,  was  of  the  finest  muslin 
and  the  richest  lace;  her  gown  was  of  heavy  satin, 
and  her  long  pendant  earrings  were  a  priceless  heir- 
loom that  had  crossed  the  seas  from  Holland.  She 
was  merry  at  times,  that  old  grandmother,  or  again 
she  was  sad,  v/ith  the  burit^i  of  all  the  years  and  of 
all  the  destinies  that  had  been  interwoven  with  her 
own.  Even  the  very  house  in  which  she  lived  was  an 
epitome  of  the  annals  of  Manhattan. 

She  watched  the  two  girls  with  an  amusement 
that  showed  itself  in  just  a  nod,  a  twinkling  of  the 
eyes  or  a  chuckle.  She  could  enter  into  their  feelings 
with  curious  exactitude.     Full  of  life,  of  mirthful- 


A  COLONIAL  MATRON  9 

ness  and  of  attraction  for  the  other  sex,  she  had 
once  trod  the  streets  of  what  had  been,  in  her  day 
of  youth,  merely  a  quaint  village.  She  had  assisted 
at  tea  parties,  assemblies  and  dances,  many  of  which 
had  been  in  this  very  dwelling  where  Polly  loved  to 
entertain  her  friends.  The  old  woman's  eyes  rested 
oftenest  and  most  lovingly,  as  was  natural,  on  the 
sparkling  countenance  of  her  granddaughter.  But 
there  were  moments  when  they  were  turned  also, 
with  something  thoughtful  and  inquiring  in  her  look, 
on  that  other,  who  was  merely  a  dear  friend  and  wel- 
come visitor  but  no  part  of  that  household.  For  it 
seemed  to  these  experienced  eyes  that  she  was  of 
an  order  altogether  different  from  those  who  had 
passed  as  maids,  as  wives  or  as  mothers  through 
that  mansion,  where  the  observer  herself,  for  two 
generations,  had  reigned  supreme.  AVherein  that 
precise  difference  lay.  Madam  \  n  Cortlandt,  per- 
spicacious as  she  was,  could  not  determine.  Some- 
thing in  the  delicate  pencilling  of  the  eyebrows,  in 
the  sensitive  lines  about  the  mouth,  in  the  haunting 
depths  of  the  eyes,  presaged  suffering. 
^^  "If  I  had  a  son  unmarried  now,"  she  mused, 

should  I  not  shrink  from  seeing  him  become  the 
husband  of  one  who,  if  I  be  not  sore  mistaken,  will 
have  more  than  her  share  of  sorrow?" 

But  the  old  woman  felt  instinctively  that,  if  there 
were  tragedy,  there  was  also  nobility  in  every  line 
of  that  face. 

"I  Mieve,  in  truth,  I  should  risk  it,"  concluded 
she;  for  here  is  no  common  type  of  maid,  though 
differing  from  my  darling  Polly  as  the  lily  differs 
from  the  rose." 

The  giris,  unconscious  of  these  reflections,  gave 
the  grandmother  a  somewhat  desultory  account  of 


10      GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

their  visit  to  Polly's  aunt  in  Morrisania,  where  the 
J-wo  had  spent  a  week,  and  then  began  to  talk  about 
the  topic  uppermost  in  their  thoughts — the  coming 
of  the  new  Gove.-nor.  Meanwhile  old  Peter,  the 
negro  who  had  grown  gray  in  Madam's  service, 
stood  behind  her  chair  and  with  a  broad  fan  flicked 
away  the  flies,  while  listening  eagerly  to  the  conver- 
sation. 

The  room  in  which  they  sat  was  all  green  and  gold, 
with  a  heavy  wainscoting  of  dark  wood.  Its  furniture 
was  solid  and  substantial;  the  chairs  were  high- 
backed,  with  broad,  brocade-covered  seats.  The 
silver  on  the  table  was  likewise  massive,  quaint  but 
rich  in  pattern,  and  bearing  with  it  from  overseas, 
whence  it  came,  something  of  the  character  of  its 
first  owners  in  Rotterdam.  The  viands  were  rich 
rather  than  varied,  though  Madam  Van  Cortlandt 
still  prided  herself  on  the  skill  with  which  she  could 
make,  or  cause  to  be  made,  all  those  good  things 
that  were  dear  to  Dutch  hearts.  Polly,  too,  was  a 
notable  cook.  There  was,  in  fact,  no  branch  of 
housewifery  which  she  did  not  understand,  having 
been  trained  under  "that  incomparable  woman," 
as  old  Dominie  Selwyns  had  described  her  grand- 
mother. The  latter's  experience  went  back  indeed 
to  pioneer  times,  when  her  grandmother,  whom  she 
vividly  remembered,  had  put  hir  hand  literally  to 
the  plough,  procuring  by  her  own  hands  almost  all 
the  necessaries  of  life. 

Through  the  lozenge-shaped  panes  of  the  dining- 
room  window  came  the  noontide  sun  of  that  bright 
day,  which  was  bringing  the  new  Governor  to  Man- 
hattan. Deep  in  Evelyn's  heart  were  thoughts  con- 
cerning him  of  which  the  others  knew  nothing. 
These  thoughts  she  could  discuss  only  with  her 


A  COLONIAL  MATRON  „ 

father,  a  quiet  and  studious  man,  for  whom  she  kept 
house  m  a  charming  Uttle  cottage  near  the  river. 

1  hope  said  the  grandmother,  "that  this  Gov- 
ernor wiU  be  an  miprovement  upon  the  last.  There 
IS  sore  need  of  it.  The  office  lost  all  its  dignity  when 
the  Kmg  s  representative  was  seen  to  consort  with 
smugglers  and,  as  some  would  have  it,  pirates. 
Colonel  Fletcher  was,  in  truth,  no  man  for  the  post  " 
D  ,/^^,^Y^^^'^^  ^^^  ^  <^"^I  in  his  time,"  added 
°,Xl  ^^  ^""^  ®°"^1  life,  there  was  none  at  all." 
Uur  liberties,"  continued  the  grandmother  ie- 
normg  Polly's  interruption,  "have  been  many  times 
and  gravely  imperilled  by  these  men  whom  our 
Sovereign  Lord,  the  King,  has  sent.  I  make  excep- 
tion of  the  good  Dongan." 

"But,"  said  PoUy,  with  a  mischievous  sparkle  in 
her  black  eyes  and  a  mocking  grimace  at  Evelyn 
was  he  not  a  Papist,  and  did  he  not  hold  strange 
wordup  with  Jesuits  and  such  like  at  the  Fort?" 

It  was  so,"  assented  the  old  lady,  "but  he  was 
none  the  worse  man  for  that— a  good  Governor  ac- 
tive and  far-seeing  and  willing  to  grant,  as  indeed  he 
Old,  toleration  to  all  men  to  worship  God  as  their 
consciences  approved." 

She  glanced  almost  involuntarily  at  Evelra  who 
had  been  strangely  silent.  But  it  was  part  of  the 
girl  s  fasanation  that  her  silences  were  often  full  of 
a  meanmg  that  impressed  itself  upon  those  around 
her.  Her  face  jj-st  then  had  a  glow  upon  it,  and 
there  was  a  hg!  :  in  her  eyes  as  if  her  unspoken 
thoughts  were  in  answer  to  the  old  lady,  who  better 
than  most  people  seemed  to  understand  her.  When 
she  broke  silence,  it  was  to  say: 

"The  Sovereign  of  England  was  at  that  time 
Vathohc,  until  he  was  driven  forth—" 


12      GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

She  stopped  abruptly,  and  Mada..i  Van  Cortlandt, 
with  her  laugh  that  was  still  mirthful  though  it 
broke  and  cackled,  completed  the  sentence: 

"By  our  Dutch  William,  married  to  James's  own 
daughter."  Then  she  added  more  gravely:  "A 
great  man  to  our  way  of  thinking,  who  might  have 
done  as  Hollanders  mostly  do,  let  folk  worship  God 
as  they  would,  but  the  English,  with  their  political 
mtrigues  and  their  fear  of  the  Catholics,  would  not 
have  it  so.  Do  you  know  that  WiUiam  was  once  in 
friendly  alliance  with  the  Pope  of  Rome?" 

"No,"  answered  Evelyn,  "I  did  not  know  that, 
and  was  he  then  willing  to  sacrifice  everything  for — " 
"For  the  sake  of  a  crown,"  said  Madam  Van 
Cortlandt,  composedly  finishing  the  sentence.  But 
there  was  a  note  of  sadness  in  her  tone  as  she  added : 
"When  you  have  grown  as  old  as  I  am,  you  will 
know  that  few  of  the  heroes  we  have  worshipped 
could  withstand  temptation." 

"He  is  no  hero  of  mine,"  said  Evelyn,  with  a  glow 
in  her  eyes  as  though  a  lamp  had  suddenly  been  lit 
thaie.  "I  hold  him  to  be  both  treahcerous  and  cruel." 
"Remeniber,"  reproved  the  old  lady,  with  sudden 
seventy,  "that  you  are  speaking  of  the  reigning 
Sovereign,  whom  may  the  Lord  God  bless  and  pro- 
tect!   No  one  at  my  table  shall  speak  ill  of  him." 

She  spoke  with  unusual  heat,  as  though  this  rght- 
minded  and  intelligent  woman,  who  had  read  much 
and  conversed  much  with  men  of  many  minds,  were 
defending  the  Protestant  idols  against  doubts  that 
had  ansen  in  her  own  mind.  And  looking  full  at 
Evelyn,  who  was  perforce  silent,  she  continued  as  if 
in  answer  to  the  expression  of  the  young  girl's  face: 
"He  had  the  peace  and  safety  of  the  realm  of 
England  to  think  of." 


A  COLONIAL  MATRON  13 

To  this  statement  Evelyn  made  no  reply,  though 
dissent  from  that  view  was  shown  in  every  line  of 
her  face.    Polly  meanwhile  was  visibly  bored.    She 
could  not  help  wondering  how  Evelyn,  who  so  keen- 
ly enjoyed  the  gaieties  and  harmless  frivolities  which 
the  town  afforded,  and  was  the  centre  of  many  a 
social  gathering,  could  be  thus  vividly  and  passion- 
ately interested  in   those  dull  subjects  which  her 
grandmother  and  the  old  people  discussed.    Even 
with  them  such  discourses  were  only  occasional, 
for  the  female  portion  of  the  community  preferred 
to  talk  amongst  themselves  of  the  number  and 
quality  of  their  slaves  or  indented  servants,  of  recipes 
for  the  making  of  cakes  or  confections  of  various 
sorts,  or  to  hear  or  retail  the  latest  gossip  of  the  town 
—the  weddings  and  births,  the  marriage  feasts  and 
caudle  parties,  the  latest  betrothals  and  the  most 
recent  deaths.    For  even  the  deaths  afforded  topics 
for  much  conversation— the  number  and  distinction 
of  the  mourners  or  of  the  relatives  to  whom  the  aan- 
sprecher  (or  death  herald)  made  funereal  announce- 
ment.   Alldetails  were  of  interest:  the  width  of  the 
mourning  bands,  who  bore  the  coffin  to  the  church, 
how  the  house  looked,  and  how  many  enjoyed  the 
wne  and  cake,  the  pipes  and  tobacco,  with  which' 
the  funeral  guests  were  regaled  on  their  return  from 
the  burial.    As  if  in  rebound  from  the  fearful  so-' 
lemnity,  the  human  heart  there  as  elsewhere,  driven* 
as  It  were  to  extremes,  turned  with  keenest  relish' 
from  mourning  to  human  comforts  and  to  the  com- 
panionship of  its  fellows. 

Madam  Van  Cortlandt,  though  capable  when  op- 
portunity offered  of  conversing  on  any  subject,  was 
deeply  mterested  in  all  local  affairs.  Taking  her 
kmttmg  bag  with  her  to  provide  employment  for 


I 


»4 


GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 


or  round  of  S  ^Ju       ^^^  ^°^^  ^°^  a  visit. 

«anall,  which  fomTthe  s„mTf  ^PP^n^K^,  large  or 
on.  scaree  peWtiWv    fSn,    *"^^-  ^^  ^  ''goes 

amongst  those  Tho^Sd^.7^-^^°'''"'°^^ 
topics  to  talk  of  Dolitir;  »t,  X"  \*  '^  from  such 
Patroon,  stiU  ^Wd^'f  nf^V^^y  ^'^t^d  to  the 
that  KiAgdom  of  Pni  P"*^.^«^  ^orkere,  or  to 
of  the  ASa^S^Stes  ■  Shf  "^f  .^  ''^^""'^ 
of  a::  that  lelatedT  to  tL  £.t^  ^""^  cognizant 
could  discourse  unon  /»,»••  •  fovemment.  She 
by  marriageTonSon.  f"9H't>es  of  Leisler.  for 
was  totally  opSS^to^nV^'r^^.^'^  'deals,  die 
a  ''fomg^  ^T  H^ted  H°'"  *"  designated  as 

Pubject  of  the  usurper  often  tcSfT"""?  T"'  ^^'« 
mg-room.  or  whe^r  her  J^  i^'**'?  *"  ^er  draw- 

nieetforagameSsquLrP„,T^^  '^''^  *" 
who  regarded  him  ^  ^^^e,  Jii^pV^"'^  ""^^^ '^y 
were  prepared  to  dpfipn^t,-  ^"*^"^'^  patriot,  and 
emment^d  the  S  f  f^^T^tion  of  the  gov- 
followed.   induc^g'^Sl' l.^yy^ni'^al  acts  '^W^ 

their  home.  '  Wth  Si  ThL ^'^.-"^'^^  Manhattan 
O^rtlandt  had  nrsSipathv  whT'  ^^^^^  Van 
that  they  were  totaU^C^d  *  r'n ^'^^  ^^^^ 
of  toleration.  She  woKS  ell  L^.  °""=^  ^^^ 
tyranny  of  a  later  EnPliTh^t ^  "''  *.°0'  "PO"  the 
ticularly  in  the  h^T^sX'T^^^^?'-'  P^' 
flour  and  the  destruction  nff»?^u°"  *^  bolting  of 


A  COLONIAL  MATRON  15 

politics  and  an  ardent  Catholic,  and  chafed  under 
the  restrictions  imposed  upon  members  of  her 
faith,  who  were  allowed  to  have  neither  priest  nor 
church. 

PoUy  on  her  part,  was  glad  when  dinner  was  over, 
especially  as  she  had  found  the  trend  of  conversation 
distasteful,  and  feared  that  Evelyn,  who  was  a  great 
favonte  with  her  grandmother,  might  say  something 
to  offend  the  latter.  It  was  a  relief  to  escape  to  her 
bedroom  upstairs,  where  the  two  made  such  addi- 
tions to  their  toilet  as  the  occasion  demanded.  The 
grandmother  remained  musing  after  the  voune 
people  had  left  her:  J-       s 

"These  Papists,"  she  said  to  herself,  "for  I  make 
sure  this  girl  is  one,  though  she  has  never  admitted 
so  much  m  my  hearing,  are  like  to  have  a  hard  time 
If  aJl  I  hear  from  England  be  true.  Evelyn's  father 
used  to  attend  the  Popish  worship  in  Dongan's  time 
or  so  I  have  been  informed.  That  will  teU  against 
him,  and  he  will  be,  in  truth,  a  marked  man.  And 
this  girl — ' 

She  paused  and  sighed  deeply.  Then,  as  if  wishing 
to  drive  the  matter  from  her  mind,  she  arose  from 
her  chaw  and,  with  a  step  that  was  still  light  con- 
sidpnng  her  vears,  went  to  inspect  the  jam  cupboard, 
taking  a  pc-.derous  bunch  of  keys  from  her  apron 
pocket.  She  also  gave  orders  that  the  coach  should 
be  at  the  door  at  a  quarter  before  two  to  convey 
them  all  to  some  vantage  point  where  the  arrival 
and  its  attendant  ceremonies  might  be  witnessed. 


I 


n 

h 
I, I 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  NEW  GOVERNOR 

P^J^h!? f.^"  ^*  -^^  appointed  hour  the  girls  de- 
L„H  ^?^  the  stairs,  prepared  to  accompany  their 

^^^ffL''^V°°^'^  ^^'^  «t^'«Jy  and  hand^,^ 
PoSv-™  '^'"'^*  *?d  outdoor  mantle  of  rich  satin 
^dlLn^ZT^  fa^ly  sparkling  with  excitement 
fwf  ^  ^^""^  ^^^'y"  had  seemingly  forgotten 
those  very  senous  thoughts  which,  like  the  deeS 
waters  of  a  stream,  flowed  steadily  beneath  the  rioS 
on  the  surface.  She  was  looking  partTcidity7S 
m  a  gown  of  yellow  lutestring,  trimmed  w^th  S 
lace  m  the  most  modish  fashion  possible.  She  S 
an  exceUent  foU  for  the  dark-haired  red"hS 
«jd^v.vaaous  Polly,  who  was  gowned  ifSiSS 

wJ^to  drivS^'wT  P°'"P°"'  *^^^  ^^^'  since  he 
^  ^u^  ?lt  Vf^^  ^^  ^^^'^y  "Pon  Ws  box, 
^kedhlf^  TifJ  "^^^  u^  '■^^"8  ^s  ^hip  to  his 
-  ^h  If  ■  ■■  T^  "^^  ^y-  J"™*^'  his  eyes  roUing 
with  anticipatory  enjoyment  of  the  promised  el 

nf  t?r,*  5"*^  ^  admiration  of  the  sumpt^^lL^s 
«L  ft  '^*^^''  '^'T'^  *^«  '^^age  do5r  upon  S 
and  then  mounted  to  his  station  at  the  b£dk.    m 

Wavl;XT*.?^"i  T  '*^  ^*y  ^°^  the  Briad 
Sve  a  th?  ifn^  ''^*^^  ^°'^-  ^°'  there  were  to 
amve  at  the  landing-place  near  Their  Excellencies 


THE  NEW  GOVERNOR 


17 

?h?  Mavir"^!^  '^"^  '^^'^'^^  °^  ^he  Council. 
«Sed  dnS^tSf  n*''^  P«>«nment  citizens,  who  had 
■auea  down  the  Bay  to  meet  them. 

The  town  wore  an  air  of  expectancy.    Flaes  were 

pnvtte  residences.  The  gardens  could  only  show 
theu^tmy  buds  of  promise  and  shoots  of  li^ng  gS^ 

month  later,  tfiey  too  would  have  given  forth  color 
and  fragrance  to  greet  the  newcomers-  "lavff 
trees  to  perfume  the  air.  peonies,  gilly  flowers  Ss 
mignonette  and  early  roieTto  delight  thHve     The 

^Ttt  ?L'^''°/  .^^°°1  --dy  to  join'^4hThl 
guns  of  the  Fort  in  firing  the  salute.    The  citizens 

M^  c^ttr^  f^^^  "^"*  ^  ^«^t  exdt^ment 
iS^ttf^  h  ^"J^  ^f^  '"™^^«  °f  all  sorts 
were  to  be  heard.     Mechanics  in  their  leathern 

KsVnS  JT'T  -"^t  Phy-cians  who  S 
De  distinguished  by  their  high  pointed  hats  th^r 
wide-skirted  coats  of  broadcloth,  their  sLrt  bitches 

SL  5?iS  fr''  ^^^  ^°^^-  °^  saver-Si  J 
^H.^7^  they  usually  carried  in  their  hands 
Gentlemen  in  doublets  and  breeches  of  brocade  or 
satm  were  also  there,  wearing  muslin  cravate  edwH 
Th^J*'^  lace  and  with  rufHes  of  lacr  atXfr  sl^^es 
These  nyalled  mdeed  their  wives  and  daueht^Tn 

£X^S  thaS  '''^'  ^'^°"«'»  the  la"t?er'we^ 
frLm  fto  ^^  u*  ^y-  ^^^  matrons  distinguished 
from  the  maids  by  wearing  the  coif  of  matronhoorf 

rW  -^r  *^"""*^-  Th«  women  of  the  Wer 
classes  m  hnsey-woolsey  or  drugget  gowns  dvedTv 
themselves  with  the  juice  of  certain^;.  mSe  a 
picturesque  showing,  the  brightness  of  colonW  bet 
™i  iir^  ,5^  snow-white  kerchiefs  and.  in  the 
case  of  the  older  women,  by  frilled  caps 


m 


I 


l8      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

All  waited  with  a  like  impatience,  differently  as 
It  might  be  manifested,  for  the  first  sight  of  that 
potentate  from  beyond  seas — that  new  ruler  who 
held  in  his  hand  the  power  of  life  or  death  and,  to  a 
great  extent,  of  joy  or  sorrow  too.  Only  the  few 
who  had  travelled  as  far  as  England,  or  had  corre- 
spondents there,  knew  anything  about  him.  Be- 
cause of  the  disturbances  of  the  Leisler  period,  which 
had  divided  the  town  into  warring  factions  and  still 
left  its  traces,  there  was  unusual  anxiety  in  the 
breasts  of  many.  For  no  man  could  tell  what  side 
Lord  Bellomont  might  espouse. 

The  Van  Cortlandt  coach  drew  up  at  a  point 
where  a  fine  view  of  the  proceedings  might  be  ob- 
tained, its  occupants  differently  affected  by  these 
moments  of  suspense.  The  grandmother  both  felt 
and  displayed  a  certain  philosophic  calm.  She  had 
seen  many  pageants  in  her  time,  governors  coming 
and  governors  going.  And  the  excitement  and  joy- 
ous mterest  which  had  heralded  the  coming,  had  very 
often  with  more  reason  marked  the  departure.  But 
the  girls,  different  as  they  were  in  most  respects, 
felt  the  same  heart-beats  at  that  moment,  though 
Polly  more  openly  showed  her  agitation. 

At  last  there  was  a  blare  f  trumpets,  followed  by 
the  surging  forward  of  the  crowd,  which  was  row 
silent  for  the  most  part  save  when  some  in  advance 
'■f'sed  a  cheer.  The  royal  colors,  those  of  William 
of  Orange,  ran  up  on  the  Fort;  the  guns  boomed 
out  then-  salute,  and  for  good  or  evil  His  Excellency, 
l^chard  Earl  of  Bellomont,  was  Governor.  The  thrill 
of  excitement  that  ran  through  Evelyn's  brain,  bring- 
ing the  tears  to  her  eyes  and  causing  her  to  grasp 
convulsively  her  companion's  hand  and  press  it,  was 
displayed  by  PoUy  in  a  series  of  exclamations: 


THE  NEW. GOVERNOR  ,9 

"Oh,  how  splendid  it  all  is  I  I  can  just  see  over 
yonder  the  uniforms  and— yes,  oh  yes,  there  is  the 
carnage  I 

It  was  the  state  coach,  similar  to  that  in  which 
Governor  Andros  had  ridden  and  which  had  been 
purchased  by  the  Corporation  of  New  York.  The 
grandmother's  dim  eyes,  catching  sight  of  it  re- 
membered with  a  sudden  flame  of  wrath  how  the 
tyrant  s  stem  face  had  looked  out  from  it.  and  how 
his  no  less  haughty  wife  had  barely  inclined  her  head 
to  the  greetings  of  the  populace. 

There  was  no  delay  at  the  Fort,  for  it  had  been 
deemed  expedient  that,  since  there  might  be  mal- 
contents about,  the  coach  should  drive  straight  on 
to  the  Stadt  Huys,  where  the  oath  of  office  would  be 
administered.  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  recalled  with 
a  shudder— for  the  old  are  always  more  engrossed 
wth  the  past,  when  they  were  in  the  fighting  line 
?^-iu^~^'i*  Governor  Slonghtcr  had  been  hurried 
thither.  It  was  in  the  dead  of  night  that  time, 
for  the  Leislenans  were  on  the  alert  and  had  made  a 
determined  resistance  to  the  landing  of  his  Lieu- 
tenant Nicholls.  Then  had  ensued  that  tragedy- 
two  tall  gibbets  had  been  erected  from  which  had 
swung  two  awful  figures— the  erstwhile,  self-con- 
stituted Governor  of  the  colony,  Jacob  Leisler.  and 
his  son-in-law,  Milbome. 

But  neither  Polly  nor  Evelyn  gave  a  thought  to 
what  was  past.  They  were  absorbed  in  that  page- 
ant, brilliant  and  engrossing,  in  what  they  saw  and 
what  promised  to  be.  They  craned  their  necks 
eagerly  from  the  carnage  windows,  watching  'n 
decorous  and  somewhat  ponderous  tread  of  lue 
pikesmen  and  train-bands  and  the  military  company 
serving  as  escort.     They  looked  impatiently  past 


20      GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

the  postilions  and  outriders,  in  their  brilliant  ac- 
coutrements, past  the  gay  caparisons  of  the  six  white 
horses,  to  the  state  chariot  and  the  Governor.  Both 
girls — but  especially  Evelyn,  whose  imagination  was 
the  more  vivid — felt  a  swift  pang  of  disappointment. 
For  there  was  my  Lord  BeUomont,  resplendent  in- 
deed in  his  military  imiform,  but  stout  and  thick-set, 
with  hair  cut  short  and  a  coimtenance  which,  to 
Evelyn  at  least,  was  distinctly  repellent.  The  small 
eyes,  she  thought,  had  something  fierce  and  sinister 
in  their  expression.  That  face  and  its  expression, 
indeed,  stirred  the  deeper  depths  within  her,  so  that 
for  a  moment  she  forgot  the  glitter  of  that  passing 
show. 

"He  will  be  no  friend  to  us,"  she  thought,  with 
one  of  those  swift  flashes  of  intuition  that  had  brought 
home  to  her  mind  many  a  vital  truth. 

But  Evelyn's  attention  was  distracted  by  the  sight 
of  that  face  at  his  side — a  face  proud  and  petulant, 
and  with  traces  of  other  emotions  and  experiences 
which  the  eyes  of  the  yoimg  observer  were  incapable 
of  reading.  But  the  countenance  thus  revealed 
brightened  with  sudden  interest  into  an  animation 
that  lent  it  a  certain  charm,  as  my  Lady  BeUomont, 
leaning  slightly  forward,  let  her  gaze  pass  over  the 
wrinkled  visage  of  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  and  rested 
it  upon  the  two  girls.  It  was  as  though  this  spoiled 
beauty,  who  had  lived  for  excitement  and  pleasure 
— ^not  always  of  the  most  innocent  kind,  according 
to  popular  reports — had  said  to  herself: 

"Oh,  in  this  detestable  place  to  which,  as  I  told 
my  Lord,  I  would  rather  die  than  come,  there  are 
really  civilized  persons,  young  women  who  would 
not  disgrace  a  ball  or  rout  in  Belgravia." 

The  carriage,  however,  swept  on,  Pi.ily  bursting 


h  . 


THE  NEW  GOVERNOR  21 

into  a  la  j^h  at  th(»  >ypression  which  she  saw  upon 
her  comi  .mion's  iacf' 

"It  is  lof  for  beau  :y  my  Lord  Bellomont  has  been 
chosen  to  govciii  this  colony,"  she  cried,  "and  he  is 
an  aged  man." 

"Did  you  expect,  then,"  put  in  the  grandmother, 
who  had  been  silently  observant,  "that  the  new  ruler 
of  these  colonies  should  be  a  gay  spark,  a  target  for 
your  arrows?  In  truth,  he  has  turned  sixty,  so  thev 
say."  ' 

"There  is  some  beauty  in  the  wife,"  observed 
PoUy,  though  half  doubtfully. 

"Yes,  and  a  little  more  than  that,"  agreed  Evelvn 
thoughtfully.  ^ 

"l  do  not  think  I  like  her  face,"  decided  Polly. 

"Her  poor  Ladyship,"  said  the  grandmother  tol- 
erantly, "was  married  when  she  was  but  twelve 
years  of  age.  One  might  believe  that  her  path  has 
been  not  all  rose-strewn." 

"Married  to  that  face,'"  exclaimed  Evelyn,  "it 
might  be  a  slow  martyrdom." 

Madam  Van  Cortlandt  protested. 

' 'Oh,  fie,  Evelyn !"  she  said.  "My  Lord  Bellomont 
IS  of  tned  bravery  as  a  soldier,  and  men  say  that  he 
has  ideas  in  his  head  about  reform  and  I  know  not 
what." 

But  Evelyn  was  obdurate  in  the  dislike  which  she 
had  taken  to  the  new  Governor— whether  from  some 
premonition  of  evil  or  merely  from  a  feminine  prej- 
udice founded  upon  her  first  disappointment  in 
the  man's  appearance,  she  would  have  found  it 
hard  to  say.  Polly  laughed  him  aside  with  satirical 
humor. 

"With  the  help  of  Evelyn's  most  lively  imagina- 
tion,   she  declared,  "I  had  pictured  the  Governor 


Ift'.V 


'»    i 


22      GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

a  fine  gentleman  with  curled  locks  falling  over  his 
shoulders,  a  clean-cut  countenance,  and  a  figure  of 
slender  proportions.    Alack,  but  he  is  a  di4point- 

But  the  attention  of  both  girls  was  drawn  to  the 
many  niembers  of  the  suite  and  the  numerous  of- 
ficers whom  the  Earl  of  Bellomont  had  brought  in 
his  tram.    Most  of  these  men  wer«  young,  dark  and 

iTtCtlJ^tl'  ^u^f-  T*''  '^^  '^"■■"ng  locks  reaching 
to  the  shoulder  which  the  observers  had  missed  in  the 
Oovernor.  And  whether  they  wore  a  military  uniform 
or  civilian  costume,  they  were  all  very  splendid  in 

SSr  rS^^M'  ^'-.'i^  '^^t  ^^  ^^  t°  ™P^«^  these 
poor  Colomals  with  an  idea  of  their  magnificence. 

dM  nnf  7u'  ^f'^^^Y  ?°^  °^  ^^""^  ne^  arrivals  who 
m.  not  take  note  of  the  two  girls  looking  out  from 
the  windows  of  that  stately,  if  cumbroul,  old  ca^ 

?ff^'  u  1'°"^  ^^^  ^'^"'^  °f  a  Pi«=ture.  So  might 
CindereUa  have  peerea  out  from  her  fairy  coach. 

S^ri/rnf  Tr^V°^  course,  divided  as  to  the  respective 
ments  of  the  two,  but  the  balance  was  in  favor  of 
„li^^,'  ^T"^"y  amongst  the  older  men.  It  was 
generally  the  young  subalterns  or  junior  members  of 
the  staff  who  preferred  the  dark  beauty  of  Polly 
with  Its  glow  and  sparkle,  and  the  damask  red  cheeks 
and  the  eyes  that  regarded  them  so  roguishly 

The  procession  moved  on,  and  the  pompous 
coachman  presently  saw  the  decorous  time  to  foT 
low  for  which  the  girls  within  the  coach  had  waited 
^th  such  mipatience.  He  finally  forsook  the  Broad 
^%t  the  marti^  music  of  the  bands  and  the  sound" 
^  fZ^  t"^^l^'^'^  the  bell  in  the  Dutch  Church 
at  the  Fort  which,  as  some  said,  had  been  cast 
largely  of  silver,  and  to  which  were  now  added  joy- 
ous peals  from  the  English  Church,  Trinity     He 


i 


THE  NEW  GOVERNOR  23 

showed  his  wisdom,  since  that  street  was  lined  three 
deep  with  spectators,  and  crowded  wherever  pos- 
sible with  vehicles.  He  turned  into  a  quiet  street, 
which  would  bring  the  expectant  ladies  to  a  safe 
comer  near  the  Stadt  Huys,  or  City  Hall.  The  better 
to  attain  his  end,  he  urged  the  staid  horses  into  a 
trot,  rarely  permitted  to  those  dignified  animals. 
This  unusual  pace  caused  the  coach  to  roll  and  rumble 
no  little,  but  even  the  grandmother  did  not  rebuke 
the  driver,  since  his  speed  was  in  a  good  cause. 

The  old  City  Hall  stood  gaunt  and  grim,  and  its 
lights  were  often  a  beacon  to  those  out  upon  the 
water  or  to  vessels  coming  up  the  Bay.  This  bare 
and  ugly  building  had  now  perforce  to  take  on  some 
appearance  of  festivity,  in  so  far  as  flags  and  stream- 
ers, mostly  of  orange,  could  effect  the  transformation. 
But  the  stem  rigidity  of  its  outUnes,  its  bald  and 
hopeless  ugliness,  seemed  to  say:  "By  no  plastering 
on  of  gay  colors  can  you  transform  me.  I  am  of  those 
to  whom  all  change  is  abhorrent.  Rulers  may  come 
and  mlers  may  go,  but  I  represent  all  the  solid  sen- 
timent of  the  people.  I  am  civic  worth  and  civic 
dullness  personified." 

With  looks  of  smiling  recognition,  the  officers 
and  members  of  the  suite  recognized  and  pointed 
out  to  one  another  the  two  girls  in  the  coach  as  if 
they  were  already  old  acquaintances.  My  Lady 
Bellomont's  languid  eyes  brightened  once  more  into 
a  look  of  interest,  until  the  splendid  cortege  was 
swallowed  up  within  the  grim  portals  of  the  Stadt 
Huys.  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  and  her  two  com- 
panions pointed  out  to  one  another  the  various 
members  of  the  Council,  most  of  whom  were  at  that 
time  on  the  same  side  of  politics  as  the  Van  Cort- 
landts— that  is  to  say,  anti-Leislerians— and  thus 


24      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

Madam's  intimate  friends,  or  even  relatives.  They 
also  exchanged  grtctings  with  the  occupants  of  other 
coaches,  or  with  pedestrians  who  stood  p.bout  the 
doors  of  the  City  Hall.  Then  Madam  gave  the  order 
to  the  coachman  to  drive  first  to  the  home  of  Mis- 
tress de  Lacey,  who  was  but  a  visitor  to  *he  Van 
Cortlandt  household,  and  thence  back  to  the  im- 
posing residence  from  which  they  had  started. 
Meanwhile,  within  the  Stadt  Huys  the  oath  of  office 
had  been  taken,  and  a  new  regime  had  begun  for 
the  colony  of  New  York. 

The  Governor  who  had  thus  arrived  with  so  much 
pomp  and  majesty  and  been  received  with  such  elab- 
orate ceremonies,  could  not  have  foreseen  that  he 
was  never  to  leave  those  shores  again;   that,  before 
many  years  had  passed,  his  bones  would  lie  beneath 
the  Fort,  and  that  the  silver  plate  from  his  exhumed 
coffin,  after  a  decade  or   two   more  hf:d  elapsed, 
would  be  stared  at  by  the  curious  in  a  museum. 
But  he  did  not  know,  and  that  day  the  pride  of  life 
and  the  pomp  of  circumstance  were  uppermost. 
Lord  Bellomont  was  jubilant  at  having  secured  so 
honorable  an  appointment,  the  emoluments  of  which 
were  considerable,  and  in  which  it  was  said  rich 
pickings  were  to  be  had.    He  was  jubilant  also  that 
he  had  bent  the  capricious  will  of  my  Lady  to  obey 
hif;  wishes,  and  forced  her  to  accompany  him  on 
this  mission,  for  previously,  when  he  was  assigned  to 
a  West  Indian  post,  she  had  allowed  him  to  go  alone 
while  she  had  lived  riotously  in  London.     Hertf, 
his  proud  and  jealous  heart  told  him,  she  would  be 
under  his  own  eye.    He  would  force  her  to  behave 
decorously,  save  her  from  misconstruction,  and  so 
make  the  best,  if  best  there  could  be,  of  so  ill-a«sorted 
a  union. 


CHAPTER  IV 

JACOBITE   AND   CATHOLIC 

'THE  house  which  Evelyn   de   Lacey  inhabited 
A    with  her  father  stood  upon  Pearl  Street,  at  that 
portion  which  was  then  known  as  "The  Waterside  " 
It  was  upon  the  comer  of  what  was  once  Winckel 
vStreet,  but  was  later  named  Whitehall  after  the  fa- 
mous residence  which  the  great  Governor  Stuyvesant 
built  there.     But  no  mansion  was  that  of  the  de 
i-aceys.     It  was  a  comparatively  smaU,  two-storv 
house,  constructed  of  the  prevailing  glazed  brick 
with  lozenge-shaped  window  panes  in  their  leaden 
sashes,    and    gables    turned    towards    the   garden 
Uambenng  over  the  walls,  and  reaching  even  to  the 
high-pointed  roof  with  its  crow-feet  chimney,  were 
uxunant  vines.     The  adjoining  garden  was  a  de- 
hghtful  spot  wherein  the  usual  prim  arrangement  of 
flower-beds  and  borders  was  departed  from,  and  the 
flowers  in   the   summer-time  grew  in   bewildering 
profusion.    The  nearest  neighbor,  on  one  side,  was 
the  mansion  of  the  la.tr  Mynheer  Steenwyck,  once 
a  prominent  citizen  of  Manhattan.    On  the  other 
side  was  a  neighbor  that  Evelyn  liked  much  better 
Md  was  not  inconveniently  close— the  East  River! 
I  tie  girl  was  never  tired  of  watching  the  river 
trom  the  window  of  her  room  with  the  play  of 
light  and  shadow  upon  its  surface.    She  liked  to 


if' 


1^ 


26      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

watch  the  oyster  boats  setting  out  early  in  the 
morning  for  the  oyster  beds  in  the  Bay;  or  the  mer- 
chant vessels,  stately  brigantines  or  more  modest 
sloops,  as  they  sailed  for  distant  ports.  She  had  also 
gUmpses  of  the  Fort,  the  Bowling  Green,  and  of 
what  went  on  there— all  sufficiently  distant  to  be 
attractive. 

The  gcrden  of  this  ideal  home  was  most  absorbing 
to  Evelyn.  In  addition  to  those  flowers  which  grew 
in  such  abundance,  and  with  a  degree  of  disorder 
which  to  the  mind  of  their  owner  constituted  their 
chief  charm,  Evelyn  had  a  comer  reserved  for  vege- 
tables to  supply  their  daily  needs,  and  a  piece  of 
ground  devoted  exclusively  to  the  herbs  and  simples 
which  she  compounded  into  medicines  with  a  skill 
acquired  from  an  old  and  once  famous  physician, 
now  dead.  Doctor  Van  Kierstade,  who  had  taught 
her  many  things  during  her  childhood  and  girlhood. 
To  the  mind  of  many  of  her  admirers,  never  did 
Evelyn  look  more  charming  than  when,  clad  in  a 
simple  garment  which  she  reserved  exclusively  for 
gardening,  she  worked  amongst  those  plants  that 
were  as  dear  to  her  as  if  they  had  been  hving  things. 
She  had  been  busy  all  those  April  days  in  doing 
whatsoever  she  could  to  promote  growth,  and  she 
was  longing  for  the  time  when  the  flowers  of  the 
garden,  or  the  more  prosaic  green  things,  would  show 
their  faces  one  by  one,  like  a  gathering  of  old 
friends. 

When  Evelyn  returned  from  the  pageant  that' 
afternoon  she  found  her  father  in  his  study,  and,  as 
it  seemed  to  her,  in  an  unusual  mood  of  dejection. 
The  broad  casement  of  the  room  was  thrown  open, 
as  if  inviting  in  the  tendrils  of  the  vines  upon  which 
later  honeysuckle,  wisteria  and  rambler  roses  would 


JACOBITE  AND  CATHOLIC  ^^ 

cluster  in  luxuriant  abundance.  Their  form  of  beauty 
alone  invaded  the  solitude  of  the  man,  who  had  been 
transformed  by  the  course  of  events  from  a  man  of 
action,  i  soldier,  even  a  courtier,  into  the  student 
and  dreamer.  He  could  catch  glimpses  of  the  river 
from  that  window  and  feel  at  times  that  pungent 
breath  of  salt  from  the  Bay.  But  he  could  catch 
no  glimpse  of  the  Fort  or  the  Bowling  Green  as  could 
Evelyn  from  her  upper  window.  It  seemed  as  if 
nature  had  shut  him  in  with  herself,  and  there  were 
reasons  which  he  considered  sufficient  for  avoiding 
the  hospitable,  easy  and  eminently  genial  society  of 
the  city. 

Gerald  de  Lacey  was  still  in  the  prime  of  life,  but 
had  travelled  much  and  seen  much  active  service, 
particularly  in  the  Low  Countries,  as  Major  in  one 
of  the  Hussar  regiments.  He  had  first  come  over  to 
the  colony  with  Governor  Dongan,  accompanied 
by  his  wife  and  young  daughter.  He  had  subse- 
quently returned  to  England,  whence  the  course 
cf  events,  resulting  in  the  accession  of  William 
of  Ch-ange,  had  again  driven  him  forth.  He  was  then 
a  widower,  and  with  his  one  daughter  had  come 
to  New  York  and  taken  up  his  residence  in  a  house 
which  had  been  built  for  the  Dutch  minister  and 
which  Major  de  Lacey  had  improved  to  his  taste. 
An  Irishman  and  a  Catholic  in  full  sympathy  with 
the  cause  of  King  James,  he  had  resigned  his  com- 
mission in  the  Hussars  on  the  accession  of  William  of 
Orange,  and  later,  for  urgent  reasons,  had  come  back 
to  that  colony,  where  previously  with  Dongan, 
under  an  extended  leave  of  absence,  he  had  spent 
some  pleasant  years.  Of  a  fiery  and  impetuous  na- 
ture, which  he  had  subdued  to  outward  composure, 
he  chafed  in  secret  under  the  enforced  idleness,  but 


% 


1  ■ 
I! 


28      GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

hid  his  disappointed  hopes  as  much  as  possible  from 
his  idohzed  daughter,  finding  solace  in  the  compan- 
ionship of  his  books,  which  happily  he  truly  loved. 

Recognizing  perhaps  the  incompleteness  of  such 
a  hfe  as  his,  he  made  every  possible  effort  to  keep 
Evel3Ti  in  the  forefront  of  the  city's  social  circles. 
He  admired  almost  inordinately  the  qualities  which 
he  discerned  in  her,  as  well  as  the  rareness  and  fine- 
ness of  her  beauty,  which  recalled  that  of  her  dead 
mother  and  appealed  to  his  fastidiousness.  His 
means,  though  not  large,  were  sufficient  for  their 
needs,  and  by  a  rigid  personal  economy,  which  he 
did  not  permit  Evelyn  to  realize,  he  contrived  to 
give  her  the  modish  and  often  expensive  costumes 
which  one  side  of  the  nature  of  the  girl  passionately 
loved.  There  was  another  side  to  her  character,  as 
yet  undeveloped,  which  would  make  her  willing  to 
wear  sackcloth  and  live  austerely  for  the  sake  of  her 
father  or  anyone  else  whom  she  loved. 

Even  had  Evelyn  been  aware  of  the  sacrifices  which 
her  father  made  to  supply  her  with  all  she  needed, 
she  could  not  have  offered  any  successful  opposition. 
For  that  was  one  of  the  matters  upon  which  Gerald 
de  Lacey  was  inflexible.  Rarely  had  his  will  run 
counter  to  that  of  his  child;  but,  when  it  did  so,  it 
was  as  effective  as  finely  tempered  steel  in  the  hands 
of  a  skilful  swordsman.  He  always  declared  that  she 
was  to  dress  as  he  thought  fitting,  and  according  to 
the  state  in  life  to  which  she  properly  belonged. 
Her  mother  had  been  the  daughter  of  a  commoner,' 
ennobled  for  distinguished  service  to  his  country, 
and  Gerald  himself  came  of  ancient  Norman  stock. 
To  these  commands  Evelyn  had  offered  but  little 
resistance,  since  it  is  so  easy  to  render  obedience 
when  one's  secret  inclinations  fit  in  with  that  duty. 


iii 


JACOBITE  AND  CATHOLIC 


29 


The  father  had  watched  her  from  the  window,  as 
stie  alighted  from  the  Van  Cortlandt  carriage  in  that 
gown  of  gold  lutestring  which  had  been  so  much 
admired,  and  he  perfection  of  her  appearance  filled 
him  with  a  pride  which  partly  consoled  him  for  t.e 
bitter  reflections  of  that  day.  When  Evelyn  enter^ 
the  stud  /■  he  >vas  sitting  at  the  table  with  the  same 
volume  o£  poetry  open  before  him  which  had  been 
unread  all  that  afternoon.  The  sound  of  the  trum- 
pets, coming  through  the  open  window,  had  been 
harrowing  for  him.  For  had  not  he  too  landed  at 
that  selfsame  landing-place,  and  passed  from  the 
Fort  to  the  Stadt  Huys  with  another  Governor,  his 
chief?  All  that  had  happened  when  life  was  fair  and 
young,  and  while  the  wife,  whom  he  had  so  passion- 
ately loved,  still  lived  and  shared,  in  her  eager  but 
earnest  way,  all  his  pursuits  and  all  his  interests. 
How  gladly  she  followed  his  fortunes  to  the  New 
World,  where  he  hoped  for  advancement  in  his 
double  career  of  soldier  and  diplomat!  Governor 
Dongan  had  been  interested  in  his  prospects,  and 
they  had  shared  in  common  the  same  hopes  and 
ideals,  and  had  worked  for  that  broad  and  compre- 
hensive so' erne  of  freedom  and  toleration  for  alL 
The  last  of  the  Stuart  Kings  had  been  then  on  the 
throne  of  England.  And  now,  though  still  compara- 
tively young  as  years  are  counted,  he  had  lived  to 
see  Dongan  hunted  Uke  a  wolf,  his  dearly  beloved 
wife  dead,  and  James,  the  hereditary  Monarch  of 
England  and  by  every  human  and  divine  law  the 
rightful  Sovereign,  a  wanderer  on  the  Continent. 
His  own  personal  fortunes  had  sunk  with  theirs, 
his  future  was  blighted,  and  he  lived  here  almost  in 
hiding,  never  knowing  what  turn  of  events  should 
make  of  liim  a  fugitive  and  an  outlaw. 


iU: 


''I 
111 


30     GERALD  de  LACEVS  DAUGHTER 

Entering  the  room  in  her  yellow  dress,  Evelyn 
brought  with  her  as  it  were  a  splendor  of  sunshine. 
Her  young  beauty  concentrated  all  that  remained 
of  the  sun  that  was  setting,  and  likewise,  as  it  seemed 
to  the  observer,  all  that  remained  to  him  of  life. 
She  approached  him  softly  and  laid  her  hand  ever 
so  gently  arA  caressingly  on  his  shoulder.    She  was 
not  given  to  effusive  demonstrations,  which  indeed 
were  rare  between  the  two.    But,  after  one  look  at 
his  face,  she  bent  and  kissed  him.    She  realized,  as 
in  a  flash,  how  much  need  he  had  of  sympathy  and 
tenderness.     She  felt  conscience-stricken,  too,  that 
she  had  been  absent  from  him  when  perhaps  he  had 
needed  her.    But  there  she  was  somewhat  mistaken. 
He  had  had  need  also  of  solitude  in  which  to  fight 
his  bitter  bpttle,  when  he  had  sent  her  away  a  few 
days  before  to  accompany  Polly  on  a  visit  to  rela- 
tives of   the  latter's  in   Morrisania.     The  father 
raised  his  head  and  met  his  daughter's  glance.    It 
was  plain  to  see  where  she  had  got  a  portion  at  least 
of  her  beauty  and  charm,  though  the  heartsore  man 
was  just  then  reflecting  that  she  had  so  strong  a 
look  of  her  mother. 
"You  did  not  go  out  to  see — ?" 
"The  passing  show,"  said  her  father,  completing 
the  sentence.    "No,  love,  for  in  such  an  assemblage 
there  could  be  no  place  for  me.    I  could  not  raise 
a  cheer,  nor,"  he  added  more  lightly,  "even  my  hat 
to  the  representative  of  the  usurper.   So  I  would  have 
been  in  all  truth  a  marked  man,  and  that  would  have 
been  perilous  for  us  both." 

Evelyn  sat  down  beside  him  with  a  countenance 
that  was  sober  and  thoughtful,  putting  aside  her 
taffeta  scarf,  which  was  of  a  deeper  shade  of  gold  than 
her  dress. 


JACOBITE  AND  CATHOLIC  31 

"Perhaps  it  was  not  meet  that  I  should  have  gone," 
she  said. 
Her  father  interrupted  her  quickly. 
"Most  certainly  you  should  have  gone,"  he  said 
emphatically.  "Our  cases,  my  dear  daughter,  are 
different  indeed.  My  life  is  done,  and  yours  but 
begun;  I  have  sworn  allegiance  to  one  prince,  and 
inay  not  take  such  an  oath  to  another.  At  least,  that 
is  my  way  of  thinking,  though,  now  that  the  fact 
is  accomplished,  I  shall  meddle  no  more  with  public 
concerns,  and  there  is  no  danger  that  I  shall  plot 
treason.  Besides,"  he  added,  "you,  as  a  young 
maid,  were  not  obliged  to  give  outward  token  of 
loyalty." 

"No,  no,"  cried  Evelyn,  "I  never  so  much  as 
bowed  my  head  nor  waved  my  handkerchief." 
The  father  smiled. 

"So  that  was  the  way  of  it,"  he  said,  "absent  in 
spirit,  though  present  in  the  body." 

And  he  thought  how  like  that  little  touch  was  to 
her  mother. 

"It  was  a  fine  sight,"  Evelyn  cried,  warming  to 
enthusiasm,  "all  save  the  Governor  himself,  who 
was  odious." 

Mr.  de  Lacey  la-ighed  a  pleasant,  mellow-sounding 
laugh,  that  had  something  contagious  in  its  melody. 
"Governors  are  not  chosen  for  their  personal  at- 
traction, I  trow,"  he  said,  "but  a  matter  more  grave 
than  his  personal  appearance  is  the  stock  of  which 
he  comes.  He  is  of  a  family  which  the  poet,  Dante, 
would  have  described  as  'an  evil  brood.'  If  we  can 
estimate  these  colonies  by  Ireland,  and  the  new 
Governor's  policy  by  the  proceedings  of  these  Cootes 
in  that  country,  then  is  there  little  hope  for  us 
Catholics." 


1. 

If 
■il 


32      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

There  was  silence  for  a  brief  interval  in  the  study, 
of  which  the  shadows  had  come  early  to  take  pos- 
session. Evelyn  moved  restlessly  but  did  not 
speak.  The  expression  of  His  Excellency's  face  had 
filled  her  with  a  pronounced  hostility  and  a  vague 
anxiety. 

Her  father  presently  resumed : 

"But  I  would  not  do  this  man  injustice.  There 
are  those  who  say  that  he  is  both  honest  and  well- 
meaning,  and  hath  in  his  head  some  ideas  of  good 
government.  So  that  perchance  the  day  that  is 
dawning  for  these  colonies  may  be  fair,  after  all." 

Evelyn,  with  an  impulsive  movement,  laid  her 
hand  upon  the  finely  formed  one  of  her  father,  which 
lay  flat  on  the  table  before  him,  and  upon  which  shone 
a  blood-red  garnet,  catching  the  last  lingering 
gleams  of  light. 

"You  will  be  prudent,  father  dearest?"  she  cried. 

"Aye,  I  will  be  prudent,"  he  answered,  adding 
quickly,  "unless  honor  should  counsel  otherwise." 

He  raised  his  head  prcvdly  as  if  the  emergency 
had  already  arisen,  and,  rislrit;  to  his  feet,  looked 
down  on  Evelyn,  who  had  like\/ise  stood  up. 

"What  would  my  little  Evelyn  counsel  in  that 
case?"  he  inquired. 

"That  we  should  both  die,"  she  answered  with 
sudden  passion. 

"May  God  avert  the  occasion,  at  least  from  you!"  • 
the  father  said  solemnly. 

But  the  girl  knew  that  he  was  pleased,  and  her 
heart  had  answered  this  other  dear  heart  which  had 
been  her  all  during  her  years  of  childhood  and  of 
youth. 


CHAPTER  V 


NEW  FACES 


3 


ON  the  next  afternoon  Evelyn  de  Lacey,  wearing 
this  time  a  sober  costume  of  cloth  which  she 
had  herself  woven  and  dyed,  accompanied  her  father 
on  a  walk  which  led  them  down  past  the  Fort,  where 
in  bygone  days  he  had  occupied  the  room  above  the 
gate.  He  noted,  with  an  involuntary  contraction  of 
the  brows,  the  orange  flag  waving,  but  he  said  noth- 
ing. Evelyn  noted  the  expression  that  had  crossed 
his  face  and  understood  its  cause.  He  had  never  got 
accustomed  to  the  sight.  Probably  the  father's  in- 
clination would  have  been  for  a  quiet  walk  through 
the  fields  or  along  the  waterfront,  but  he  knew  that 
his  daughter  would  naturally  prefer  to  meet  some  of 
her  friends,  who  were  sure  to  be  upon  the  parade, 
then  the  fashionable  promenade. 

As  they  passed  the  Bowling  Green,  a  number  of 
officers  were  playing  bowls  with  the  keenest  zest, 
and  with  jests  and  laughter  that  rang  out  gaily 
in  the  silence  of  that  spring  afternoon.  At  intervals 
during  their  Sport  they  paused  to  survey  the  passing 
groups  of  gaily  dressed  women  and  men,  for  in  rich- 
ness the  men's  attire  almost  surpassed  that  of  their 
feminine  competitors.  Evelyn  de  Lacey  was  once 
more  the  cynosure  of  all  those  observers,  who,  in 
their  careless  or   supercilious  ignorance,   believed 


i'MI 


:< 


34      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

these  colonies  to  be  barely  on  the  verge  of  civiliza- 
tion and  a  place  where  there  was  little  to  admire  and 
much  to  criticize.  Scoffs  and  jeers  were  alike  si- 
lenced by  the  face  of  the  girl,  to  which  corresponded 
a  well-proportioned  figure,  held  erect  as  a  dart  and 
supple  as  a  willow.  It  was  evident,  too,  to  those  who 
took  the  trouble  to  follow  her  movements,  that  she 
was  a  person  of  note  in  the  community.  Hats  were 
continually  being  doffed  to  her,  and  there  were 
smiles  and  cordid  greetings  alike  from  those  in  car- 
riages and  pedestrians. 

There  were  two  officers  upon  the  Green,  who,  sus- 
pending their  sport,  had  given  a  closer  attention  than 
all  the  rest,  not  only  to  this  girl,  but  also  to  her  com- 
panion. They  took  particular  note  of  Gerald  de 
Lacey.  There  was  something  in  his  tall,  erect  figure 
that  betrayed  the  soldier,  and  something  in  the  profile 
of  that  face,  which  was  never  once  turned  towards 
them,  that  marked  him  out  from  his  fellows.  He  was 
unconscious  of  that  gaze,  which  he  might  perhaps 
have  found  disturbing.  Just  at  the  moment,  as  if  to 
give  the  observers  a  still  better  opportunity  for 
their  observations,  Polly  Van  Cortlandt,  attended 
only  by  her  negro  maid,  intercepted  her  friends,  and 
began  an  animated  conversation.  As  they  stood 
thus  in  the  full  sunlight  of  that  April  day,  her  brill- 
iant beauty  made  as  usual  a  foil  for  that  other  com- 
panion whose  subtle  charm  was  even  more  per- 
ceptibly felt  by  the  two  who  stood  still  upon  the 
Bowling  Green. 

The  men  on  the  Green  offered  an  equally  strong 
contrast  to  each  other.  One  was  a  medium-sized, 
compactly  built  man,  with  an  eye  that  would  be 
invaluable  in  the  field,  a  lean  and  bronzed  face  that 
at  once  commanded  attention  and  inspired  confi- 


NEW  FACES 


3S 


dMice.  It  was  that  of  a  strong  and  resourceful  man, 
who  had  had  experience  of  life  and  its  ways,  without 
succumbing  to  its  evil.  He  was,  in  fact,  Captain 
Egbert  Ferrers,  who  had  ateady  won  distinction 
m  active  service.  His  companion  was  taller  and 
paler,  as  if  the  sun  had  been  unable  to  take  effect 
upon  a  skin  that  was  thick  and  a  complexion  that 
was  duU.  His  hair  was  red  and  his  eyes  of  a  pale 
blue,  with  a  trick  of  making  themselves  as  expres- 
sionless as  a  mask.  Lieutenant  Prosser  Williams, 
who  bore  by  courtesy  the  title  of  Captain,  was 
counted  by  some  a  handsome  man,  and  was  quite 
willing  to  coincide  with  that  opinion.  But  to  the 
close  observer  there  was  a  suggestion  of  coldness,  of 
craft,  even  of  cruelty,  which  repelled.  For  the  rest, 
with  slightly  stooping  shoulders  and  an  ahnost  ex- 
aggerated slendemess,  his  general  appearance  was 
that  of  a  man  of  fashion,  rather  than  of  a  soldier. 

"Where  in  the  name  of  all  the  gods  of  Greece  " 
he  said  presently,  "have  I  seen  that  face  before?"' 

"Do  you  refer,"  Captain  Ferrers  inquired,  some- 
what curtly,  "to  the  beautiful  face  of  the  lady?" 

For  Captain  Ferrers,  seasoned  as  he  was,  had  him- 
self received  from  that  exquisite  face  an  impression 
so  strong  that  it  seemed  to  blot  out  all  other  features 
in  the  landscape.  It  had  shaken,  too,  his  pride  and 
self-confidence,  and  that  beUef  in  his  power  to  resist 
feminine  charms  which  had  become  proverbial 
amongst  his  comrades. 

"No,"  said  Prosser  Williams,  "I  can  take  my  oath 
that,  save  for  a  momentary  glimpse  of  it  at  the  car- 
nage window  yesterday,  I  have  never  seen  that  face 
before—no,  nor  one  like  it.  I  was  speaking  of  her 
companion — a  youthful  father  or  an  elderly  hus- 
band, it  matters  little  which." 


36      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

The  suggestion,  no  less  than  the  other's  tone,  irri- 
tated Captain  Ferrers.  Nor  would  he  admit  to  him- 
self the  idea  of  a  husband.  The  next  instant  he  smiled 
whimsically.  What  a  man  of  straw  he  was  proving 
himself,  after  all! 

"I  did  not  overmuch  observe  the  lady's  compan- 
ion," he  said  quietly. 

"Eyes  only  for  the  fair,"  said  Captain  Williams, 
with  the  faintest  perceptible  sneer.  "Yet  even  that 
perfection  of  beauty,  which  I  did  not  dream  these 
colonies  could  produce,  did  not  blind  me  to  the  man. 
He  is  worth  noting,  and  I  could  swear  that  I  have 
seen  him  before  and  at  no  distant  date." 

His  attention  thus  specially  directed  to  the  father, 
Captain  Ferrers,  perceiving  that  the  two  were  still 
in  sight,  strolled  away  from  his  companion,  and  took 
up  lus  position  at  a  better  point  of  observation  on 
that  smooth  greensward,  where  so  lately  he  had  been 
strenuously  engaged  in  rolling  about  the  balls  as 
if  that  endeavor  were  the  sum  total  of  his  aspira- 
tions. Now  something  serious  had  happened, 
though  it  was  only  the  second  glimpse  he  had  caught 
of  the  face  of  a  girl,  earnest,  innocent  and  hatmtingly 
beautiful.  Her  back  was  now  turned  towards  him, 
so  that  he  saw  instead  the  radiant  countenance  of 
her  friend,  whose  sparkling  eyes  of  black,  raven 
hair  and  damask  cheeks  did  not  in  the  least  appeal 
to  him.  Moreover,  he  was  curious  to  have  another 
look  at  that  man  who  had  attracted  Prosser  Williams' 
attention,  for  something  in  the  latter's  remark  had 
struck  him.  From  where  he  stood,  in  such  a  posi- 
tion as  to  be  unnoticed  by  those  whom  he  wished  to 
observe,  his  keen  eyes  had  a  very  distinct  view  of 
Gerald  de  Lacey's  face,  lined  and  careworn  in  the 
strong  light  as  he  smiled  down  at  his  daughter's 


m 


NEW  FACES 


37 


friend.    Egbert  Ferre's  drew  in  his  breath  with  a 
sharp  exclamation : 

"By  heaven,"  he  cried,  "I  too  have  seen  him  be- 
fore, and  I  remember  where."  Then  he  added,  with 
growing  irritation:  "If  that  sleuth-hound  of  a  Will- 
iams has  but  got  hold  of  a  clue,  there  will  be  trouble, 
but  I  will  be  hanged,  drawn  and  quartered,  if  I 
assist  his  memory." 

Something  in  the  alternative  he  had  proposed  for 
himself  made  him  shiver  slightly.  There  had  been 
so  much  of  such  happenings  within  the  memory  of 
living  men  in  England.  At  the  moment  he  stepped 
forward  unconsciously  from  his  place  of  conceal- 
ment, and  his  eyes  met  those  of  Gerald  de  Lacey, 
which  had  in  them  at  first  merelj  a  look  of  care- 
less inquiry,  suddenly  changing,  as  it  appeared  to 
Ferrers,  into  one  of  uneasiness.  At  the  same  in- 
stant, too,  Evelyn,  turning  her  head,  looked  full 
into  his  face.  The  double  sensation  be  thus  experi- 
enced so  curiously  upset  him  that,  scarcely  waiting 
to  perceive  that  the  tall  man  on  the  pavement  was 
hurrying  his  daughter  away,  he  walked  swiftly  across 
the  lawn  where  a  game  was  still  in  progress  and 
eager  bowlers  called  out  to  him  as  he  passed.  He 
walked  on  rapidly,  hardly  knowing  whither  he  was 
going,  till  he  found  himself  on  the  shore  where  rows 
of  palisades  had  been  erected  against  suspected  in- 
roads of  the  French.  He  was  unnerved  to  a  degree 
that  neither  he  nor  any  of  his  friends  would  have  be- 
lieved possible.  For  there  comes,  no  doubt,  in  every 
life  moments  when  some  great  issue  seems  forcing 
itself  to  the  front  and  forcing  into  the  background 
all  that  has  been  previously  of  paramount  impor- 
tance. 
He  stopd  staring  out  at  the  water  where  miniature 


i 


I 


38      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

waves  chased  one  another  under  the  cool  brightness 
of  that  sky,  deeply  blue  though  mottled  with  white 
clouds.  The  breath  of  the  salt  air  coming  up  from 
the  ocsan  was  reviving.  He  was  still  warm  from  his 
game,  and  felt  the  need  of  such  refreshment,  as  he 
watched  with  abstracted  gaze  the  sails  of  the  fisher- 
boats  and  some  Indian  canoes,  which  dotted  the 
wide  expanse  of  water  before  him.  He  had  only 
one  idea  clear  in  his  mind :  to  avoid  any  questioning 
from  Williams,  which  might  complicate  matters, 
and  to  advise  the  father  of  this  girl,  whose  very 
name  was  unknown  to  him,  to  leave  that  town  at 
the  earliest  moment  and  to  take  with  him  his  daugh- 
ter (or  his  wife)  out  of  reach  of  influences  that  might 
j.i  some  fashion  be  brought  to  bear  upon  them. 

He  began  to  argue  too  in  his  mind,  as  if  the  matter 
were  of  vital  importance,  that  this  girl  could  not 
possibly  be  the  wife  of  the  man  whom  he  had  just 
recognized.  For  he  had  been  told  at  the  time  that 
he  was  married,  and  had  been  married  some  years. 
Why,  his  wife  would  be  nearing  middle  age!  He 
drew  a  breath  of  relief,  and  then  it  flashed  upon  him 
with  disturbing  force  that  death  might  havp  inter- 
vened, and  the  man  be  married  again  to  this  young 
and  charming  girl.  He  suddenly  felt  a  curious  sense 
of  desolation  darkening  his  mind,  as  that  cloud  was 
just  then  darkening  the  Bay.  A  sense  of  danger  to 
come  and  a  possible  loss  smote  him,  so  sensitive  is 
the  htunan  soul  to  weird  impressions.  If  it  was  nec- 
essary that  the  tall  man  with  the  worn  face  should 
remove  to  some  distant  place  with  his  daughter 
(for  so  he  persisted  in  calling  her),  he  knew  that  he 
himself  would  miss  something  that  gave  color  ana 
interest  to  these  landscapes  and  to  the  quaint  Dutch 
town,  the  characteristics  of  which  he  had  previously 


liiiij 


NEW  FACES  39 

scarcely  noted.    He  felt  a  strong  desire  to  study  that 

^l,T  u^^^^^^""'  ^'^  fi"<^  o"t  for  himself 
u  -fi^^^^^  ***^*  *^"*y>  which  he  assured  him- 
self wth  the  power  of  experience  coi-Jd  not  be  merely 
superficial.  He  wanted  to  know  the  meaning  of  the 
^^^°^J^}^g  behind  those  uncommon  eyes, 
and  he  told  himself  with  sudden  resolution  that  he 
would  do  so  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  He 
walked  back  again  across  the  Bowling  Green  and 
through  the  stone  courtyard  to  the  Governor's  resi- 
uence  where  he  had  his  quarters.  The  father  and 
daughter,  who  had  awakened  such  interest,  had 
gone;  the  gay  groups  on  the  pavement  had  thinned 
out.  and  the  baUs  on  the  green  had  ceased  to  rattle, 
l-rosser  WiUiams  was  nowhere  to  be  seen 

Meanwhile.  Mr.  de  Lacey  and  his  daughter  had 
returned  home,  unaware  that  new  influences  had 
come  into  their  lives.    Evelyn  lingered  amongst  the 
herbs  and  flowers  m  her  garden,  conscious  of  a  n«-w 
excitement,  which  she  was  young  enough  and  im- 
pressionable enough  fully  to  appreciate.     Surelv 
those  groups  of  bowlers  on  the  Green,  typical  of 
Me  and  energy    had  given  a  now  interest  to  the 
sometimes    monotonous    existence    of    Manhattan. 
Nor  had  she  been  unmindful  of  the  glances  of  inter- 
est Mdathniration  she  had  caught  on  those  tv/o  faces 
which  had  most  impressed  her.     They  seemed  to 
have  singled  themselves  from  the  others  in  her  con- 
saousness.    Towards  one  she  felt  a  half-formed  dis- 
hke  or  annoyance  which  had  its  origin  in  something 
that  was  bold  and  insolent  in  his  glance.    And  that 
man  s  hair  was  red,  and  his  eyes  were  pale  blue     As 
for  the  other  she  had  got  no  farther  in  her  impres- 
sions than  that  she  would  like  to  know  his  name 
and  perhaps  to  discover  if  he  danced  as  weU  as  he 


l^l 


II 


40      GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

bowled,  and  if  he  were  really  as  bright  and  full  of 
interesting  experiences  as  he  seemed.  But  her  father, 
having  hurried  into  the  house,  sat  with  his  head 
buried  in  his  hands  in  deep  and  anxious  meditation. 
So  far  removed  are  the  preoccupations  of  one  gen- 
eration from  those  of  another. 


i-.tii.i 


CHAPTER  VI 


THOMAS  GREATBATCH,   SMUGGLER  AND  PIRATE 

ON  the  Streets  of  the  town,  during  those  closing 
years  of  the  seventeenth  century,  a  certain  type 
of  men  was  to  be  seen,  easily  distinguishable  from 
all  others.  Their  dress  consisted  of  loose  trousers, 
short  open  jacket,  a  sash  of  scarlet  around  their 
waist,  and  a  bandolier  of  tlie  same  flaming  color 
over  their  shoulders.  Their  bronzed  faces,  fierce 
mustachios  and  bold  eyes  proclaimed  their  calling. 
They  were  avowedly  smugglers,  but  also — as  every- 
body whispered,  but  few  said  aloud — pirates.  Smug- 
gling and  piracy  had  become,  in  fact,  a  common 
avocation,  and  it  was  broadly  hinted  that  citizens 
of  prominence  were  interested  at  least  in  the  smug- 
gling operations,  to  which  they  lent  their  counte- 
nance. 

During  the  regime  immediately  preceding  that  of 
Lord  Bellomont,  the  smugglers  had  grown  bold, 
being  under  the  patronage,  it  was  said,  of  those  in 
authority.  Piracy  upon  the  high  seas,  and  in  the 
vicinity  of  New  York,  had  become  so  common  that 
my  Lord  Bellomont  was  entrusted  with  a  special 
commission  to  inquire  into  that  abuse  and  its  remedy. 
He  had  early  announced  to  the  Council  his  deter- 
mination to  put  a  stop  to  the  nefarious  traffic.  This 
announcement  had  not  succeeded  in  stiildng  terror 


If 

A'' 
m 


Ip 


ii 


42      GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

into  the  hearts  of  men  who  had  been  accustomed  to 
defy  or  evade  the  law,  and  to  hear  at  intervals  ful- 
minations  against  themselves  and  their  callmg, 
which  were  followed  by  no  vigorous  action.  But 
the  Earl  of  Bellomont,  a  resolute  man  and  accus- 
tomed to  command,  went  a  step  farther,  and  this 
\vith  the  approb-\tion  of  the  King  and  others  in  high 
places  in  the  mother  country.  He  declared  his  in- 
tention of  founding,  in  default  of  a  navy,  a  privateer 
service,  to  which  the  wealthy  men  of  the  colony, 
particularly  those  who  had  maritime  interests,  should 
contribute.  Sailing  the  high  seas,  these  privateers 
would  meet  the  pirates  on  their  own  element. 

This  announcement  of  his  was  the  chief  subject 
of  conversation  at  every  dinner  table  in  the  town, 
and  in  the  taverns  where  men  of  all  shades  of  opinion 
met  for  the  discussion  of  public,  and  sometimes 
private,  affairs.  And  it  was  being  discussed  on  a 
certain  afternoon  under  the  spreading  boughs  of 
that  famous  eki  which  sheltered  the  tavern  of  Der 
Halle,  by  two  men  who  sat  as  far  apart  as  possible 
from  the  stragglers  that  now  and  then  came  forth 
from  the  tavern  to  enjoy  the  coolness  of  the  air  under 
the  great  tree.  One  of  these  wore  that  dress  which 
many  were  now  beginning  to  fear,  but  which  had 
been  so  long  a  familiar  feature  of  the  Dutch  city. 
In  an  ordinary  peaceful  community  that  costume 
would  have  been  startling,  but  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Manhattan  at  that  epoch  the  smuggler,  thus  boldly 
proclaimed  by  his  costume,  was  a  picturesque  and 
almost  admir>.d  figure.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing 
to  see  such  men  seated  at  the  tables  of  notable  citi- 
zens, or  smoking  a  friendly  pipe  and  drinking  a  bowl 
of  punch  with  them  in  the  taverns.  For  it  was  these 
men  who  brought  to  the  port  of  New  York  rich  stuffs, 


!i'i' 


GREATBATCH,  SMUCX3LER  AND  PIRATE   43 

gold,  precious  stones,  wines  and  spices  from  the 
Orient,  no  less  than  such  ordinary  products  as  sugar, 
molasses  or  rum.  If  sometimes,  as  was  alleged  but 
never  openly  avowed,  their  illegal  trade  merged  into 
the  darker  calling  of  pirates,  it  only  seemed  to  lend 
them  an  added  attraction  in  the  eyes  of  many  other- 
wise law-abiding  citizens,  or  the  charge  was  conven- 
iently held  to  be  slanderous  and  unproved. 

The  member  of  this  calling,  who  appeared  under 
the  tree  of  Der  Halle  tavern  that  day,  was  a  broad, 
thick-set  man,  with  a  coarse  and  strongly  marked 
countenance,  upon  which  smallpox  had  set  its  seal. 
This  Thomas  Greatbatch,  who  smoked  in  short, 
fierce  puffs  from  a  huge  pipe,  was  so  typical  of  his 
class  that  he  was  a  hero  to  adventure-loving  boys  of 
the  town.  Also  he  was  on  terms  of  something  very 
like  intimacy  with  many  grown  men,  despite  their 
secret  disgust  at  his  boastfulness,  coarseness  and  in- 
solence, no  less  than  the  suspicions  they  must  have 
entertained  as  to  his  character.  The  man  who  sat 
opposite  to  him  at  table  was  as  far  removed  from 
him  in  station  as  in  appearance  or  manners.  A  new- 
comer to  the  colony,  of  mixed  English  and  Dutch 
extraction.  Mynheer  de  Vries  had  made  himself  a 
power  by  the  vastness  of  his  commercial  operations 
and  the  wealth  of  his  establishment.  He  had  pur- 
chased the  dwelling,  lately  left  vacant  by  the  death 
of  the  celebrated  Cornelius  Steenwyck,  which  ad- 
joined that  charming  dwelling  wherein  Major — or, 
as  he  now  thought  it  safer  to  be  called,  Mr.— de 
Lacey  and  his  daughter  had  taken  up  their  abode. 
His  coat  and  small  clothes  were  of  finest  broadcloth 
of  dark  wine  color,  with  silver  buttons.  His  waistcoat 
was  of  brocaded  satin,  with  jabot  of  fine  lace.  His 
clear-cut  features  were  aristocratic  in  type.     His 


i\ 


ill 


44      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

hands  were  long,  white  and  thin,  and  upon  one  finger 
sparkled  a  jewelled  ring  of  priceless  value.  Upon 
this  bauble  the  eyes  of  his  companion  were  covet- 
ously fixed  from  time  to  time,  for  he  was  fully  aware 
of  its  value.  Possibly  he  was  thinking  that,  had  he 
been  upon  the  deck  of  his  good  ship,  he  would  have 
lost  no  time  in  possessing  lumself  of  such  a  gem,  and 
with  scant  ceremony  to  its  owner.  The  talk  of  the 
two  men  was  at  first  unimportant: 

"See  yonder  mackerel  clouds,"  said  Greatbatch, 
pointing  with  his  pipe-stem  to  the  firmament. 
'"Mares'  tails,'  as  we  call  them,  Mynheer,  aiid  a 
good  name  enough.  Well,  as  sure  as  the  sun's  in 
the  heavens  now,  that  means  bad  weather,  and  a 
signal  to  Captain  Greatbatch  to  make  sail  before 
it  comes." 

His  companion's  eyes  followed  the  direction  of 
the  pipe-stem  to  where  fleecy  masses  of  cumuli, 
lie  Sie  unshorn  wool  of  many  lambs,  were  crowd- 
ing together  in  masses  upon  the  azure  expanse  of 
sl^.  Here  and  there,  other  trailing  clouds  broke 
the  blueness  with  exquisite  effect. 

"You  are,  no  doubt,  right,"  said  the  other,  in 
even,  courteous  tones.  "Though  I  may  not  claim 
your  knowledge  of  the  weather,  I  can  believe  that 
we  are  near  a  change." 

"I'll  sail  at  sun-rising,"  Captain  Greatbatch  said 
decisively.  Then,  as  his  round  eyes  dropped  from 
the  dcy  to  the  water,  he  burst  into  a  great  guffaw: 
"What  a  sight     ey  are,  those  Vrowen,  by—" 

Mynheer  raised  his  hand  in  d^recation  of  the 
coarse  oath  with  which  the  observation  was  seasoned, 
nor  did  he  see  anything  especially  ludicrous  in  the 
to  him  customary  sight  of  comely  red-cheeked 
women  rowing  their  flat-bottomed  boats,  piled  with 


.11 


GREATBATCH,  SMUGGLER  AND  PIRATE  45 

market  produce,  over  the  broad  river  from  the  sandy 
cliffs  beyond. 

Greatbatch,  however,  continued  to  chuckle  and 
mutter  to  himself  as  he  watched  those  placid  oars- 
women,  with  their  caps  tied  under  their  dtiins  and  no 
other  head-covering  to  protect  them  from  the  sun. 
Then,  as  the  rum  which  he  was  imbibing  (that 
Barbadoes  brand,  of  which  he  himself  had  brought 
into  port  full  many  an  ilUcit  cargo)  began  to  warm 
him,  he  burst  forth: 

"I  know  that  you  gentlemen  are  shaking  in  your 
shoes,  for  has  not  my  Lord  Bellomont — a  curse  upon 
him!— -made  laws  against  the  honest  profits  of  us 
men  of  the  sea  ?" 

"It  is  most  certainly  true,"  said  Mynheer,  bend- 
ing eagerly  forward  and  dropping  his  voice,  "that 
it  will  be  extremely  perilous  for — " 

He  stopped  and  peered  all  around  the  great  elm 
tree,  for  so  considerable  was  its  girth  that  it  was  a 
conmion  boast  of  the  tavern  how  many  men  it  took 
to  encircle  it.  He  even  looked  up  into  the  branches, 
lest  any  adventurous  lad  might  be  emulating  the 
birds  by  finding  a  foothold  amongst  the  foliage. 

Greatbatch  laughed  a  scornful  laugh. 

"Parlous,"  he  echoed,  "since  ever  I  was  a  lad  in 
my  teens,  I  have  lived  in  the  teeth  of  peril;  and  if 
you  mean  by  that  dangers  to  the  body,  I  snap  my 
fingers  thereat." 

He  did  snap  his  fingers  in  such  close  proximity  to 
Mynheer's  face  that  the  latter  drew  back  in  disgust. 

"Then,  there's  another  peril  that  you  gentry  are 
afraid  of,  and  that  is  your  reputation  and  your 
standing  with  these  Governors  that  they  send  out 
here  from  the  old  country  to  take  the  bread  out  of 
folks'  mouths." 


M 

m 


am- 


X-Wf 


43 


'^ 


I 


46      GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

After  another  alarmed  look  around  the  place, 
where  the  few  who  were  present  seemed  to  be  ab- 
sorbed in  their  own  concerns,  and  only  the  birds 
in  the  branches  above  were  near  enough  to  have  over- 
head. Mynheer  said: 

"With  one  part  of  your  speech  I  am  most  heartily 
in  accord;  for  reputation  is  of  a  surety  what  we 
gentlemen  have  to  safeguard.  If  we  have  winked 
at  your — "  He  paused  for  a  suitable  word,  while 
Greatbatch  eyed  him  truculently.  "At  your  eva- 
sions of  the  law." 

Greatbatch  laughed  a  deep,  hoarse  laugh,  for  well 
he  knew  that  the  euphemism  was  but  a  paltry  way 
to  describe  those  daring  deeds  of  his,  some  of  which 
might  be  called  crimes,  but  in  which,  in  so  far  as  it 
was  safe,  he  gloried. 

"My  Lord  Bellomont,"  went  on  Mynheer,  "has 
determined  to  put  down  with  a  strong  hand  all 
illicit  traffic,  and  with  still  greater  zeal  such  attempts, 
if  any  sudi  are  made,  as  may  imperil  the  lives  and 
property  of  His  Majesty's  lieges  upon  the  high  seas." 

Perhaps  there  was  a  faint  note  of  satire  in  the 
smoothness  with  which  this  was  said,  too  subtle 
for  the  ear  of  Greatbatch,  and  Mynheer  fancied 
that  he  caught  in  the  latter's  deep  growls  such  ex- 
pressions as  "white-livered,  chidcen-hearted  cow- 
ards." But  he  thought  it  wiser  to  take  no  notice. 
In  so  far  as  was  possible,  the  matter  must  be  settled 
amicably  with  this  ruffian,  who  knew  so  much  that 
implicated  himself  and  many  other  prominent  citi- 
zens of  Manhattan,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  that 
piracy  which  had  made  the  high  seas  a  terror,  or  in 
that  smuggling  which  was  making  the  port  of  New 
York  notorious  for  evasions  of  the  law.  That  many 
high-minded  citizens  looked  with  horror  upon  the 


GREATBATCH,  SMUGGLER  AND  PIRATE  47 

fonner  of  these  practices,  and  with  disapproval  upon 
the  second,  did  not  alter  the  fact  that  many  others 
were  involved  therein.  And,  though  they  did  not 
care  to  admit  the  fact  to  themselves,  they  were  per- 
fectly well  aware  that  the  success  of  this  Captain 
Greatbatch  in  bringing  cargoes  to  New  York  must 
have  been  often  attained  by  foul  and  even  mur- 
derous means.  Such'  a  form  of  open  robbery,  fre- 
quently involving  the  loss  of  human  life,  was  ren- 
dered picturesque  by  being  practised  on  the  main, 
rather  than  upon  a  lonely  road. 

"Aye,"  said  Greatbatch,  irritated  by  the  other's 
caution  no  less  than  by  the  liquor  he  had  imbibed, 
"the  Governor  wants  to  enforce  navigation  laws 
and  to  confiscate  ships  and  cargoes  for  the  customs 
dues.  He  tries  hard  to  take  the  bread  from  honest 
seamen,  but  mark  you.  Mynheer,  he  has  passed  a 
law  against  them  that  knowingly  entertain,  conceal 
or  hold  correspondence  with  pirates." 

And  he  laughed  long  and  loud  at  the  dismay  which 
was  visible  on  the  countenance  of  Mynheer  at  this 
reminder.  Also,  he  raised  his  voice  to  a  pitch  which 
caused  his  companion  to  protest  in  great  alarm,  as 
he  said; 

"As  for  my  Lord  Bellomont's  scheme  to  place 
privateers  on  the  seas  in  place  of  pirates,  why,  what 
are  they  but  a  pack  of  hell-hounds?  And  Cap'n 
Kidd  for  their  Commander,  oh  Lordy,  Lordy !  Why, 
man,  if  I  mistake  not,  he  will  be  the  most  daring 
pirate  alive  to-day,  the  most  dangerous  sea-rover 
that  ever  trod  a  deck — aye,  and  I  make  no  doubt 
the  most  expert  of  cutthroats.  And  here's  to  his 
health,  I  drain  my  glass  to  him." 

M5mheer  had  noticed  with  consternation  that, 
even  as  the  man  spoke,  a  gentleman  strode  out  from 


^\\:. 


V'. 


iiiiii 


48      GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

the  tavern  and  occupied  a  place  not  far  removed 
from  them  on  the  other  side  of  the  tree.  He  recog- 
nized him  at  once  as  belonging  to  the  Governor's 
household.  He  had  seen  him  when,  with  other 
notables  of  the  town,  he  had  gone  to  meet  the  newly 
arriving  Governor,  and  when  he  attended  the  in- 
stallation ceremonies  at  the  Stadt  Huys.  He  had 
since  met  him  at  various  social  gatherings,  and  was 
aware  that  his  name  was  Captain  Ferrers.  The 
latter  seated  himself  unobtrusively,  smoking  a  pipe 
and  sipping  a  glass  of  beer  which  the  waiter  brought 
him.  Mynheer  whispered  a  word  of  warning  to  his 
companion,  upon  which  the  latter,  turning,  and  as 
if  to  include  the  newcomer  in  the  invitation,  cried 
aloud: 

"Come,  drink  to  the  health  of  Cap'n  Kidd,  newly 
appointed  by  His  Excellency's  worship  policeman 
of  the  seas.  Drink  with  me  to  Cap'n  Kidd,  like  to  be 
the  most  daring  pirate  that  ever  sailed  the  high  seas." 

After  an  instant  of  astonishment,  a  look  of  hu- 
morous intelligence  crossed  Ferrers'  face.  _  The  man 
and  his  costume  proclaimed  his  profession,  which 
was  henceforward  forbidden.  Also,  there  was  a 
certain  irony  in  the  glance  which  the  young  man  cast 
at  the  smuggler's  companion.  The  latter,  catch- 
ing his  eye,  greeted  him  with  a  formal  bow,  which 
Ferrers  returned  courteously  but  carelessly.  At 
which  Mynheer,  leaving  Greatbatch  with  but  little 
ceremony,  advanced  towards  the  officer  with  some- 
thing deprecating,  almost  obseouious,  in  his  manner. 

"I  was  just  telling  this  good  man,"  he  said,  "that 
the  days  of  his  calling,  as  openly  practised  in  Man- 
hattan, are  about  numbered." 

Greatbatch,  hearing  this  remark,  was  highly  in- 
pensed,  and  pried  out; 


GREATBATCH,  SMUGGLER  AND  PIRATE  49 

"Whether  I  be  a  good  man  or  a  bad  man,  more 
likely  the  latter,  at  least  I  am  open  in  my  vilLainies, 
for,  sir,  whoever  you  may  be,  I  am  just  telling  this 
worthy  gentleman  that  the  game  he  and  the  other 
big  bugs  have  been  playing  in  this  town,  is  well  nigh 
over,  unless  they  can  make  a  bargain  with  His 
Excellency's  new  pirate-captam,  Cap'n  Kidd." 

And  the  fellow,  overcome  with  tipsy  mirth  at  his 
own  humor  and  at  the  manner  in  which  he  had  turned 
the  tables  upon  his  companion,  went  off  into  a  roar 
of  laughter.  Meanwhile,  scarlet  with  confusion  and 
full  of  apprehension,  Mynheer  stood  quite  con- 
founded. Greatbatch,  seeing  that  his  companion 
had  deserted  him,  drained  his  glass  and  lurched 
away  with  a  satirical  farewell  to  his  late  associate. 

"Will  you  join  me,  Mynheer,"  said  Ferrers,  with 
unmoved  gravity,  "in  a  glass  of  beer,  or  do  you  per- 
chance prefer  Madei'-a?" 

But  there  was  still  that  look  of  humorous  intelli- 
gence in  the  keen,  gray  eyes,  that  made  the  burgher 
decidedly  uncomfortable.  Nevertheless,  he  accepted 
the  courteous  invitation  with  some  eagerness.  He 
had  a  weakness  for  the  society  of  the  great,  and  be- 
sides, there  might  be  an  opportunity  of  putting  him- 
self right.  When  his  glass  had  been  filled,  Ferrers 
remarked: 

"Yonder  is  rather  a  dangerous  sort  of  fellow,  I 
should  opine,  especially  if  it  be  in  matters  confiden- 
tial.   He  dips  too  deep  into  the  bottle  for  one  thing." 

"He  is  of  rufBanly  demeanor,  I  grant  you,"  re- 
plied Mynheer,  "but  he  is  a  trader  and  a  most  suc- 
cessful one,  master  of  the  trading  vessel,  'Hesperia.' " 

"Which  vessel,  if  I  might  hazard  a  guess,  has  a 
history,"  said  Ferrers. 

Mynheer  made  a  gesture  of  deprecation, 


'4i 

if 


lis 

n  in 


iifi 


so      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

"It  is  a  trader,"  he  repeated  suavely. 

"Might  one  venture  to  suggest,  in  connection 
with  that  trade,  the  word  'illicit'?"  inquired  Ferrers. 

Mynheer  looked  into  the  clear,  gray  eyes,  and  an- 
swered boldly: 

"Smuggling,"  he  said,  "has  been  hitherto  held 
by  some  persons  in  Manhattan  to  be  a  minor  of- 
fence, if  offence  at  all.  Restrictions  upon  otir  com- 
merce have  been  so  burdensome  and  so  vexatious." 

"Granted.  But  the  rich  cargoes  of  these  traders, 
how  are  they  procured?" 

He  sipped  his  beer,  but  did  not  look  into  the  other's 
face,  since  he  had  no  mind  to  play  the  inquisitor. 

"How?"  stammered  Mynheer.  "Why  they  sail 
the  high  seas  to  distant  ports  and — " 

"It  is  in  these  ports,  then,"  inquired  Ferrers,  in 
the  manner  of  one  interested  in  a  debatable  point, 
"that  they  procure  those  cargoes  of  costly  mer- 
chandise, which,  as  I  have  heard  tell,  often  include 
jewels  of  price,  gold  and  the  finest  of  stuffs?" 

As  Mynheer  did  not  at  once  reply,  since  he  knew 
that  that  question  cut  into  the  very  heart  of  the 
subject,  Ferrers  lightly  closed  the  discussion: 

"I  pray  your  forgiveness,"  he  said,  "for  entering 
upon  a  topic  which  to  be  sure,  and  at  least  in  so  far 
as  I  am  concerned,  is  purely  local." 

And  remarking  upon  that  which  Greatbatch  had 
before  made  subject  of  conversation,  he  said : 

"What  a  very  extraordinary  figure  those  market- 
women  cut,  and  how  skilfully,  if  placidly,  they  use 
the  oars!" 

Following  his  lead,  Mynheer  discoursed  upon  that 
topic,  presently  pointing  out,  however,  that  the  great 
clouds  presaging  high  winds  were  banked  up  to  the 
west,  behind  the  pile  of  great  rocks. 


GREATBATCH,  SMUGGLER  AND  PIRATE  sf 

"But,  perchance  you  know,  Captain  Ferrers," 
he  explained,  "the  local  tradition  that  these  winds 
are  forever  driven  back,  not  by  the  rocks,  as  might 
seem  most  nattual,  but  by  the  spirits  of  departed 
Indians.  Why,  even  we  burghers  have  a  land  of 
belief  in  it." 

"Which  would  be  but  another  instance  of  in- 
genuous credulity,"  Ferrers  said  slyly,  and  the  other, 
realizing  his  meaning,  once  more  flushed  from  chin 
to  forehead.  "As  for  example,  if  one  were  to  credit 
the  sea  stories  of  yonder  fellow  that  has  just  left  us." 

But  Mynheer,  becoming  exasperated  under  his 
smooth  manner,  answered  with  something  of  im- 
pertinence in  his  tone: 

"Even  as  when  His  Excellency  holds  it  for  certain 
that  Captain  Kidd  wiU  exterminate  the  sea-robbers." 

' '  Have  you  acquaintance  with  this  Captain  Kidd  ?' ' 
inquired  Ferrers,  apparently  unheeding  the  thrust. 

"But  a  sUght  one,"  replied  Mynheer,  adding  with 
a  return  to  his  former  caution:  "Men  say  that  he 
is  both  brave  and  skilful." 

"Were  he  not  the  former,  at  least,"  responded 
Ferrers,  "he  would  scarce  have  undertaken  his  pres- 
ent service." 

At  which  Mynheer  permitted  himself  a  peculiar 
smile  and  slight  raising  of  the  eyebrows,  as  he  added: 

"And  my  Lord  Bellomont  commends  him  highly." 

"My  Lord  Bellomont  commends  him  highly," 
assented  Ferrers,  echoing  the  precise  form  of  words 
used  by  his  companion. 

Then  he  asked  a  question: 

"There  is  in  this  town,"  he  said,  "a  gentleman  of 
the  name  of  de  Lacey?"  For  that  much  he  at  least 
had  learned,  together  with  the  fact  that  the  lady 
with  the  beautiful  eyes  was  his  daughter. 


1i 
i 


52      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

"Yes,  yes,''  said  Msmheer,  "Mr.,  fonnerly  Major, 
de  Lacey.  I  fancy  he  does  not  make  use  of  the  mili- 
tary title  now.    Do  you  chance  to  know  him?" 

"I  have  but  seen  him,"  said  Ferrers. 

"He  is  a  man  of  books,  and  takes  little  part  in  the 
affairs  of  these  colonies.  A  most  agreeable  fellow  to 
meet,  but  he  goes  not  at  all  into  society.  He  lies 
low  now.  For  he  came  out  at  first  to  these  parts  with 
Dongan." 

"Ah,"  said  Ferrers,  a  quick  flash  of  interest  in 
his  eyes,  "and  Dongan  was  a  recent  Governor  here, 
but  since  succeeded  to  the  Earldom  of  Limerick." 

"Exactly  so,"  answered  Mynheer.  "He  was  the 
only  Popi^  Governor  New  York  has  ever  had,  and, 
because  of  his  religious  opinions,  some  were  against 
him.  Honest  and  a  wortiiy  ruler,'  as  I  believe  him 
to  have  been,  he  fell  under  suspicion  by  reason  of 
his  Popish  practices.  This  de  Lacey  came  hither  in 
his  train." 

"And  here  remained?"  inquired  Ferrers. 

"Oh,  he  has  been  in  England  since,  but  the  reason 
for  his  leaving  there,  I  know  not.  Mayhap,  it  was 
political,  for  some  will  have  it  that  he  is  a  Papist, 
though  nothing  is  known  to  a  certainty,  and  he  is 
assuredly  Irish,  a  nation  none  too  friendly  to  the 
King's  Majesty." 

As  Ferrers  made  no  comment  on  this  information, 
the  other  added : 

"His  daughter,  whom  perchance  you  may  have 
noticed,  is  a  charming  girl,  and,  since  the  two  are 
my  near  neighbors,  I  am  in  a  position  to  judge.    It 

'  The  aieriSs  sent  a  resolution  of  thanks  to  King  James  for  hav- 
ing sent  Colonel  Thomas  Dongan,  "of  whose  integrity,  justice, 
equity  and  prudence,  we  have  already  had  a  sufficient  experience 
at  our  General  Court  of  Sessioas." 


GREATBATCH,  SMUGGLER  AND  PIRATE  53 

is  Mid  that  she  wields  the  weapons  of  her  sex,  beauty 
and  the  rest,  remorselessly  with  the  young  gaUants 
of  the  town. 

"They  have  my  sympathy,"  said  Ferrers,  "for 
we  are  all  ahke  powerless  against  the  fair." 

Light  as  was  his  tone,  he  knew  that  he  could 
testify  to  the  strength  of  those  weapons  when  wielded 
by  one  possessed  of  such  attractions  as  Evelyn  de 

Since  there  were  signs  that  the  bad  weather  pre- 
dicted by  Captain  Greatbatch  was  even  then  ap- 
proachmg  Ferrers  presently  took  his  leave.  As 
they  shook  hands  in  parting,  Mynheer  said- 

fllidt'tSs v'"''''  ^"^  ^^  ^  "^  'l"^^*'"'^  °f 
^"^  replied  with  his  humorous  smile- 


Ill 


CHAPTER  VII 

AN   ESCAPED  BIRD 

EVERYBODY  was  an  early  riser  in  that  town, 
wherein  the  English  in  point  of  numb«s  and 
social  influence  were  akeady  beginning  to  dispute 
supremacy  with  the  Dutch.  The  sun,  on  rising  high 
in  the  heavens,  would  have  been  quite  surprised  to 
find  any  denizens  of  the  place  stUl  inclosed  in  the 
bedste  (or  wall  cupboard),  wherein  the  sleeping  of  the 
maiority  was  done,  or  even  in  those  luxurious  bed- 
steads, high  from  the  floor,  curtained  and  canopied 
which  in  the  houses  of  the  wealthy  had  replaced  the 

It  would  thus  have  been  no  matter  of  astonishtnent 
to  any  passer-by  to  see  Evelyn  de  Lacey  workmg 
amongst  the  flowers  in  her  garden  wMe  they  were 
still  wet  with  dew,  or  amongst  the  herbs  froni  which 
she  compounded  perfumes  or  simple  medicmes. 
However,  on  one  particular  mormng  some  weeks 
after  the  arrival  of  the  new  Governor,  Evelyn  was 
delayed  by  a  series  of  small  domestic  occurr^ces, 
so  that  it  was  full  nine  o'clock  before  she  went  out 
to  her  appointed  task.  Her  costume  was  simple  ^ 
befitted  her  work,  but  not  even  the  much-admired 
lutestring  brought  out  to  better  advantage  the  slen- 
der gracefulness  of  her  perfectly  proportioned  figure, 
or  her  absolute  lack  of  self-consciousness,  which  lent 


AN  ESCAPED  BIRD 


55 


auch  ease  to  her  movements,  than  did  this  linsey- 
woolsey  of  a  becoming  shade  of  blue.  As  she  raised 
her  head  from  a  plant  which  she  was  pruning,  with 
something  maternal  in  her  touch,  she  became  aware 
that  someone  was  standing  outside  the  latticed  wall 
of  the  garden  and  watching  her— a  woman  whose 
dress,  studied  m  its  carelessness,  had  touches  about 
It  not  native  to  Manhattan.  When  her  eyes  met 
those  of  the  girl  through  one  of  the  apertures,  she 
laughed  and,  advancing  to  the  gate,  addressed  Eve- 
lyn m  a  softly  modulated  voice: 

"I  crave  your  forgiveness  for  thus  interrupting 
your  work.  I  am  exceeding  anxious  for  some  in- 
formation as  to  this  town  of  New  York.  I  wonder,  in 
truth,  that  they  have  not  changed  the  name." 

She  spoke  with  a  hint  of  satire  in  her  tone,  as 
though  she  were  laughing  at  some  person  or  persons 
unknown. 
^^It  is  often  called  Manhattan,"  suggested  Evelyn. 
"And  once  was  called  New  Amsterdam.    It  has  had 
Its  vicissitudes,  this  pretty  burgh,  like  so  many  of  us  " 
The  lady,  as  she  spoke,  was  giving  full  meed  of 
admu-ation  to  the  Colonial.    For  admiration  is  free- 
ly given,  even  lavishly  bestowed,  by  women  of  a 
certain  type  upon  others  of  their  sex,  provided  that 
tlje  object  of  such  flattering  regard  in  no  way  in- 
terferes with  their  own  plans  or  preferences.    Thus 
this  fine  lady,  who  stood  before  the  gate,  was  think- 
ing: "What  an  exquisite  creature  to  be  thrown  away 
here,  as  a  lovely  fern  in  a  shady  wood!" 

Eveljm,  who  for  an  instant  had  been  puzzled,  was 
now  tolerably  certain  of  the  passer-by's  identity, 
and  in  her  mmd  arose  the  doubt  as  to  whether  she 
should  allow  that  knowledge  to  appear  or  should 
await  a  hint  from  the  other.    She  remembered  the 


\i  ■■?':'f!' 


S6      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

eyes,  with  the  jaded,  weary  expression,  though  not 
without  their  beauty;  the  mouth,  marred  by  luies 
of  discontent;  the  general  aspect  of  one  prematurely 
aged  and  yet  artificially  young,  which  did  not  de- 
stroy traces  of  a  beauty  that  must  once  have  been 
considerable.  The  ease,  and  even  elegance,  of  the 
other's  movement  and  manner  would  be  unmis- 
takable to  this  girl,  who  had  known  other  typra 
than  the  provincial,  even  if  she  had  not  recognized 
one  whom  she  had  seen  under  iwrticular  circum- 
stances. She  waited,  therefore,  with  the  prumng- 
knife  in  her  hand,  a  graceful  figure  and  full  of  a  dis- 
tinction which  was  keenly  appreciated  by  the  visitor. 
"I  dare  swear,"  the  latter  said,  leaning  carelessly 
upon  the  gate  over  which  ran  a  fragrant  vine,  "you 
have  never  chanced  to  feel  like  a  bird  that  had 
slipped  for  an  instant  from  its  cage." 

Evelyn  shook  her  head,  with  that  smile  which  was 
reckoned  one  of  her  greatest  charms,  so  full  was  it 
of  sympathy  and  intelligence. 

"Our  free  air  of  Manhattan  is  agamst  such  a 
feeling,"  she  answered. 

"I  envy  you  most  heartily,"  aghed  the  other, 
"for  I  am  out  of  my  cage  this  morning." 

Her  eyes  wandering  over  the  garden,  she  pres- 
ently exclaimed :  "  Oh,  but  this  garden  is  an  enchant- 
ing spot,  and  these  flowers  aro  such  as  our  first 
mother  might  have  tended  in  Paradise." 

And  she  ended  her  eulogy  with  a  few  words  of 
Dutch,  which  completed  the  comparison. 
"But  I  am  int  Dutch,  Madam,"  observed  Evelyn, 

"No  and  so  I  would  have  swem.   But  what  then? 
Engjish?" 
"Irish,"  replied  Evelyn,  proudly. 


AN  ESCAPED  BIRD 


57 


"Ah,  true,  I  might  have  guessed  it.  That  type  is 
a  most  lovely  one.  But  was  it  not  in  Dutch  com- 
pany that  I  saw  you  first?"  inquired  the  lady. 

"And  where  was  that,  Madam?"  asked  Evelyn, 
though  she  knew  very  well  indeed.  The  lady  not 
answering,  as  though  she  did  not  wish  just  then  to 
reveal  her  identity,  Evelyn  presently  added: 

"Perchance  it  may  have  been  with  my  close 
friends,  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  and  her  grand- 
daughter, Polly." 

' '  Precisely  so,"  said  the  lady,  nodding  as  if  pleased, 

"for  I  remember  to  have  heard  that  name."  Adding 

after  a  pause:   "And  that  name  is  not  then  yours?" 

"No,  Madam,  for  mine  is  Evelyn  de  Lacey,"  the 

girl  responded. 

"De  Lacey,  de  Lacey,"  repeated  the  visitor,  as 
if  puzzling  over  something  in  her  own  mind.  ' '  I  seem 
to  have  heard  the  name,  though  where  I  cannot  say. 
But  in  truth  it  matters  little,  for  there  is  a  saying 
that  people  may  meet  where  hills  will  not." 
She  a^ed  no  further  question,  but  said  instead: 
"Will  you  do  me  a  favor,  Mistress  Evelyn  de 
Lacey,  and  accompany  me  in  a  walk,  just  to  ^ow  a 
poor  stranger  this  charming  little  town  of  yours?" 

She  held  out  her  hand  with  such  winning  grace  that, 
even  if  Evelyn  had  not  known  who  she  was  and  had 
not  been  assured  of  the  impossibility  of  refusing  her 
request,  she  still  would  have  consented  willingly. 
And  this  despite  the  fact  that  there  was  something 
under  all  the  courtly  elegance  of  this  exterior  that 
jarred  upon  her — something  sophisticated  wtdch 
instinctively  revolted  her.  It  was  the  meeting  of 
two  extremes:  the  cold,  proud  purity  of  the  Irish 
girl,  now  living  as  a  Colonial,  and  the  worldliness 
of  the  woman,  who,  if  common  report  were  to  be 


H 


.la 


S8      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

believed,  had  scorched  her  brilliant  wings  in  the 
flame  of  folly.  Evelyn  felt,  despite  this  instinctive 
repulsion,  a  certain  attraction  toward  this  woman, 
and  that  quite  apart  from  the  knowledjue  of  her  sta- 
tion, which  made  the  episode  of  this  morning  seem 
like  a  rare  adventure. 

"Most  certainly.  Madam,  I  shall  go  with  you," 
said  Evelyn,  "if  you  will  be  pleased  to  wait  until 
I  have  put  on  my  bonnet."  She  hesitated,  being  un- 
certain what  the  etiquette  of  such  a  moment  de- 
manded: "And  may  I  meantime  offer  you  a  seat  in 
our  drawing-room?" 

"Thank  you,  no,"  replied  the  lady,  "rather  I  shall 
walk  about,  if  I  may,  in  these  garden  paths  and  dream 
that  I — I  too  am  in  Paradise." 

With  the  slightest  possible  delay  Eveljm  procured 
a  wide  bonnet  of  straw,  much  more  simple  than  that 
which  she  had  worn  with  her  gold  lutestring,  but  so 
charmingly  trimmed  with  flowered  ribbon,  and  dis- 
playing the  unerring  taste  in  dress  which  was  one 
of  ^e  girl's  attributes,  that  the  lady  cried  out  in  ad- 
miration. To  Evelyn  her  language  of  praise  seemed 
affected  and  insincere,  but  it  was,  in  very  truth, 
just  then  genuine.  They  passed  out  of  the  gate  and, 
when  Evelyn  would  have  turned  in  the  direction  of 
Broad  Way  and  the  Bowling  Green,  the  lady  checked 
her. 

'No,  no,"  she  said,  hastily,  "not  that  way.  I 
want  something  new,  something  different." 

Evelyn,  at  once  understanding  and  marvelling 
at  her  own  stupidity  in  supposing  this  lady  would 
wish  to  walk  over  ground  with  which  she  was  daily 
familiar,  led  her  by  way  of  some  of  the  more  obscure 
streets,  and  outwards  towards  the  Wolfert's  Valley, 
where  it  lay  along  the  shore.   As  they  went,  the  lady 


AN  ESCAPED  BIRD 


59 


kejjt  op  a  miming  fire  of  conunents  upon  the  town, 
which  she  declared  resembled  one  great  garden. 
She  admired  in  her  exaggerated  fashion  the  trees, 
lime  and  elm,  ash  and  locust — the  last  giving  forth 
so  pleasant  an  odor  that  she  stopped  to  inhale  it, 
as  though  it  were  a  rare  perfume.  She  talked  of  the 
rivers,  praising  their  breadth  and  cleanliness,  of  the 
Bay  where  the  oyster  fishers  with  their  wide  lakes 
brought  in  the  highly  profitable  bivalves,  and  of  the 
wild  ducks  whi  h  hovered  in  such  numbers  over  the 
water,  and  had  attracted  her  from  the  first  with  their 
gray  and  purplish  plumage.  She  gave  much  atten- 
tion to  the  names  of  streets,  commenting  upon  them 
with  an  almost  childish  interest  and  curiosity. 

"What  may  be  the  name  of  this  one  we  are  now  ap- 
proaching?" die  asked,  pausing  to  receive  an  answer. 

Evelyn  replied  that  it  had  formerly  been  known 
by  two  names,  Boiger  Joris  Path  and  the  Glass- 
makers'  Street,  but  was  now  named  ^ter  the  reign- 
ing Sovereign,  William  of  Orange. 

The  lady  tossed  her  head  wi3i  some  petulance. 

"And  to  think,"  she  exck'med,  "that  they  have 
ended  by  naming  it  'William' !  Ah,  Mistress  Evelyn, 
but  ultra-loyalty  is  a  wearisome  quality.  And  here 
again  is  Nassau,  which  was  much  better  entitled 
Keweman,  for  that  last  hath  something  quaint  and 
pleasing  about  it,  since  it  conjures  up  a  picture." 
^^  "And  this  Gold  Street,"  she  again  commented, 
"sounded  to  my  mind  vastly  prettier  by  its  original 
title  of  Golden  Hill.  How  pretty  it  must  have  been 
with  masses  of  golden  grain,  which  now,  as  I  perceive, 
have  disappeared!  Tell  me.  Mistress  Evelyn,  why 
do  people  ever  reject  the  poetry  and  retain  the  prose  ? 
Why  do  you  Colonials  cast  all  your  poetry  into  that 
stream  yonder?" 


^1 


li.li: 

f 


I'll* 


,  > 


60      GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

She  pointed  as  she  spoke  to  the  slow  and  somewhat 
sluggiui  stream,  which  flowing  inwards  from  the 
Hudson — for  the  two  were  now  upon  their  homeward 
way — passed  through  the  centre  of  the  city,  spanned 
by  bridges  and  with  a  pretty  walk  on  either  side. 

But  her  talk  was  not  all  of  the  city  through  which 
they  passed.  She  sometimes  gave  utterance  to 
strange  and  startling  sentiments,  which  she  excused 
by  the  assertion  that  that  morning  she  was  a  bird 
out  of  its  cage. 

"For  in  ^e  ordinary  course,"  she  declared,  "I 
have  a  string  attached  to  my  foot,  or  some  obse- 
quious person,  who  follows  in  my  track,  will  not  let 
me  out  of  sight." 

She  spoke  her  mind  freely,  too,  as  to  persons  and 
things,  for  intuitively  she  trusted  Evelyn.  She  criti- 
cized such  personages  as  John  Nanfan  and  Thomas 
Weaver,  both  of  whom  had  accompanied  my  Lord 
from  England  and  were  both  high  in  the  Governor's 
counsels. 

"As  for  John,"  said  the  lady,  "he  will  lead  my 
Lord  Bellomont  into  mischief,  for  a  more  narrow 
and  puritanical  being  was  never  bred  by  the  Cov- 
enanters." 

Now  Evelyn,  being  aware  of  the  close  relationship 
in  which  Mr.  Nanfan  stood  to  my  Lady  Bellomont 
(being  in  fact  her  brother),  was  astonished  at  this 
freedom  of  discussion;  all  the  more  so,  as  she  had 
heard  her  father  express  a  very  similar  opinion,  and 
presage  trouble  for  those  of  the  Catholic  Faith  from 
his  presence. 

"Aye,"  said  the  lady,  as  if  talking  to  herself,  "he 
is  already  weeping  over  the  usurper  Leisler's  bones, 
who,  as  it  seemeth,  was  detested  by  more  than  half 
of  the  decent  people  of  the  colony.    Such  a  one 


AN  ESCAPED  BIRD 


6t 


■hould  be  left  in  peace,  now  that  he  is  dead,  though 
Govcarnor  Sloughter  may  have  done  an  ill  thing  in 
hanging  him.  The  Papists  must  have  rejoiced,  for 
he  too  was  their  sworn  enemy." 

"They  had  no  hand  in  his  death,"  declared  Eve- 
lyn, speaking  with  an  eame?iiiess  that  caused  the 
lady  to  look  at  her. 

"Had  they  not?"  she  inM.  rel  'Y«  I,  I  have 
heard  his  opponents  callt  ;i  V.r  Its  or  Iir  ^  James' 
men." 

"King  James'  men  majiv  of  ih -in  .".'•-'  i  ot,"  said 
Evelyn,  "and  I  have  hoard  r,aiJ  U  m  Mi  -  .  was  no 
Papist  amongst  them,  ill  riLii.;'  Ontoh  or  of  the 
Dutch-English  party.  Atid  •:  ■  t.-  'li,  Madam,  those 
of  the  ancient  Faith  are  but  a  Jia  iU''ul  here,  and 
mostly  of  the  lower  order." 

Again  the  lady  looked  keenly  into  the  face  that 
was  more  beautiful  now  in  its  excitement. 

"You  are  too  young  and  beautiful,  child,"  she 
said,  with  some  abruptness,  "to  trouble  that  charm- 
ing head  of  yours  with  such  vexatious  questions." 

Evelyn,  seeing  something  like  suspicion  in  her  man- 
ner and  perhaps  a  note  of  warning  in  her  words, 
said  no  more,  and  indeed  they  were  just  then  ap- 
proaching the  garden  gate  again.  The  lady  stopped 
abruptly,  and,  laying  her  hand  upon  Evelyn's  arm, 
said  with  an  earnestness  and  a  frankness  that  star- 
tled the  girl: 

"I  know  not  whether  I  need  explicitly  inform  you 
whence  it  is  that  I  have  escaped,  and  that  my 
cage  is  down  yonder."  She  waved  a  slender  hand  in 
the  direction  of  the  Fort,  as  Evelyn  dropped  the 
conventional  curtsey  required  of  her.  "You  may 
perhaps  have  heard  strictures  upon  my  past  con- 
duct.   If  such  should  reach  yoiu:  ears,  remember 


11 


;•«■' 


:.i  ■ 


^li 


62      GERALD  DB  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

before  you  judge  me  that  I  was  mairied,  a  child 
of  twelve,  to  a  man  of  mature  age.  His  life  was 
of  the  camp  and  field,  and  nane  was  left  to  nm  in 
whatsoever  groove  it  would.  What  it  might  have 
be«i,  I  know  not." 

There  was  a  look  of  deep,  brooding  melancholy  m 
her  eyes,  as  she  turned  aside  an  instant,  walking  on 
to  the  very  gate  in  silence.  There  she  stopped  and, 
permitting  Evelyn  to  enter  so  that  the  two  were 
facing  each  other,  said : 

"From  all  the  tiresome  ceremony  which  His  Ex- 
cellency thinks  it  necessary  to  inaugurate  here, 
from  all  its  pomps  and  from  all  its  works,  from  my 
ladies  and  from  some  of  my  gentlemen-in-waiting, 
I  pray  to  be  delivered.  And,"  she  added  with  a 
gl^ul  laugh,  "I  have  delivered  myself  from  them 
ail  this  morning." 

As  Evelyn  remained  silent,  finding  nothing  ap- 
propriate to  say,  the  Countess  of  Bellomont  took  her 
hand  and,  giving  it  a  friendly  pressure,  said: 

"I  thank  you  for  having  aided  me  in  this  delight- 
ful adventure.  I  thank  you  for  having  behaved 
with  so  admirable  discretion  and,  though  knowing 
my  rank,  for  having  suffered  me  to  follow  my  whim. 
Oh,  I  will  want  to  see  more  of  you  while  I  stay  here 
in  this—" 

She  was  on  the  point  of  saying  "desert,"  but  being 
intuitively  aware  that  Evelyn  would  resent  such  an 
appellation  as  applied  to  her  Manhattan,  which 
during  their  waUc  she  had  repeatedly  professed  to 
love,  the  lady  left  the  word  unsaid  and  proceeded: 

"For  it  is  rare  to  find  a  congenial  soul,  for  con- 
genial we  are  despite  the  vast  gvdf — I  mean  in  world- 
ly experience — that  lies  between  us."  Then  she  added 
mournfully:    "But  I  am  not  quite  certain  whether 


AN  ESCAPED  BIRD 


63 


we  may  meet  often,  or  with  the  delightful  freedom  of 
this  morning." 

For  she  knew,  though  she  did  not  say  so,  that 
Lord  Bellomont  was  not  only  jealously  exclusive 
in  permitting  no  men  of  the  colony  to  have  more  than 
the  most  ceremonious  and  conventional  acquaint- 
ance with  her,  but  he  was  also  disposed  to  keep  the 
Colonial  women  at  arm's  length  from  his  wife  and 
to  forbid  anything  that  approached  to  intimacy. 

"But  one  thing  I  know  to  a  surety,"  the  lady 
concluded,  "that  I,  who  have  so  loved  courts  that 
it  was  like  taking  my  heart's  blood  to  leave  them, 
do  now  most  heartily  abhor  the  stupid  pomp  and 
state  here  where  it  is  meaningless." 

She  dropped  the  girl's  hand  with  a  sigh  and, 
giving  her  a  last  friendly  smile  and  nod,  walked 
quickly  away.  With  curiously  mingled  feelings, 
Evelyn  watched  her  figure  hasten  down  towa^ 
the  Fort  in  the  morning  simshine,  and  presently 
turn  into  the  Broad  Way,  which  had  once  been  an 
Indian  trail. 


M 


■I 


CHAPTER  VIII 


,  > 


SHOALS  AND  QUICKSAND 

IT  was  sometime  later,  after  a  conference  with  the 
cook  and  the  trying  of  a  new  recipe  for  Deven- 
ter  cookies,  that  Evelyn  was  able  to  resume  her  in- 
terrupted labors  in  the  garden.  Her  eyes  had  still 
a  glow  in  them,  her  cheeks  an  unwonted  color,  from 
her  walk  in  the  fresh  morning  air  and  the  pleasant 
flavor  of  excitement.  For  was  there  not  something 
exhilarating  and  past  the  common  in  thus  having 
been  brought  into  touch  with  someone  out  of  that 
great  world  which  has  forever  its  enchantment  for 
the  daughters  of  men,  especially  when  it  is  seen 
from  afar,  like  a  mirage  of  ocean?  And  Evelyn 
had  also  been  permitted  a  glimpse  into  a  heart, 
the  sealed  book  of  life,  which  awed  while  it  thrilled 
iiei. 

She  was  for  the  second  time  conscious  that  some- 
one was  standing  outside  the  wall  —  someone  who 
threw  a  dark  and  clearly  defined  shadow  upon  the 
garden  path.  When  Evelyn  glanced  up  from  her 
occupation  of  tying  with  fine  and  delicate  fingers  a 
fallen  vine  to  a  treUis,  as  though  it  had  been  a  sen- 
tient thing,  she  saw  before  her  the  taller  of  the  two 
men  whom  she  had  first  noticed  on  the  Bowling 
Green,  and  whom  she  had  since  seen,  though  at  a 
distance,  in  various  social  gatherings.     His  face, 


SHOALS  AND  QUICKSAND 


6S 


paler  than  ever  in  the  morning  light,  was  thrown  into 
strong  relief  by  the  redness  of  his  hair.  There  was  a 
smile  lurking  in  the  blue  eyes  and  about  the  lips 
whidi  EveljTi  did  not  like.  Her  antipathies  were 
both  strong  and  quickly  formed.  She  enveloped 
herself  in  a  frosty  veil,  delicate  and  intangible  as 
mist,  but  absolutely  impenetrable. 

"So  might  fair  Flora  have  appeared  to  her  dev- 
otees," the  young  man  began.  But  the  expression 
of  the  eyes  that  looked  into  his  steadily  warned  him 
to  proceed  on  other  lines.  "I  throw  myself  on  your 
compassion,"  he  said,  bowing  low,  "I  would  appear 
to  have  lost  my  way,  and  am  looking  for  a  street 
which  will  lead  me  to  the  Ferry." 

"You  have  indeed  lost  your  way,"  said  Evelyn, 
with  some  significance,  for  she  was  aware  that  it 
was  both  unnecessary  and  unwarrantable  for  him  to 
have  addressed  her  when  he  could  have  made  his 
inquiries  of  the  proper  officials,  the  sentries  stationed 
at  various  points,  or  even  of  some  ordinary  passer- 
by. Besides,  despite  his  exaggerated  courtesy,  the 
whole  tone  and  manner  of  the  man  was  offensive. 
Nevertheless,  she  believed  it  best  to  assume  that  his 
desire  for  information  was  genuine,  and  gave  him  the 
requisite  directions  in  a  voice  so  icy  that  to  go  a 
step  further  would  have  seemed  impossible  even 
for  this  man  of  fashion,  to  whom  all  Colonials  seemed 
a  fair  target  for  insolence.  But  the  man  in  question 
was  not  easOy  abashed. 

"My  most  humble  thanks,"  he  said,  "that  the 
goddess  has  deigned  to  point  a  guiding  finger." 
_  Evelyn  turned  her  back  as  though  her  conversa- 
tion were  ended,  and  resumed  her  former  occupation. 

"But  I  must  pray  you,"  persisted  the  young  man, 
"to  be  more  explicit  in  your  directions;  whether  it 


i 


66      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

be  the  sun,  or  a  still  more  potent  cause,  my  wits  are 
quite  bewildered." 

Evelyn,  slightly  turning  her  head,  regarded  him 
with  cold  surprise,  as  though  he  had  not  spoken, 
and  as  if  she  wondered  what  might  be  detaining 
him. 

"Come,  be  kind,  fair  Flora,"  began  the  intruder 
again,  "and  set  a  poor  stranger  upon  the  right  way. 
I  am  Captain  Prosper  Williams,  at  your  service,  of 
His  Excellency's  Household." 

He  seemed  to  think  that  this  last  announcement 
would  be  overwhelming,  but  Evelyn,  who  was  al- 
ready well  aware  of  the  fact,  made  no  change  in 
her  attitude,  and  at  that  moment  a  voice,  the  stern- 
ness of  which  was  accentuated  by  its  quietude,  spoke 
from  an  unexpected  quarter; 

"I  should  advise  you.  Sir,  to  make  your  inquiries 
at  the  nearest  tavern." 

Captain  Williams,  taken  aback,  glanced  hastily 
at  the  study  window,  and  there  saw  lerald  de  Lacey, 
his  face  pale  and  with  a  dangerous  l.ght  in  his  eyes. 
The  younger  man  felt  at  first  inclined  to  stand  his 
ground,  but,  thinking  better  of  it,  turned  away  with 
a  muttered  apology,  followed  under  his  breath  by  an 
imprecation.  His  eyes  were  full  of  malignant  anger 
at  the  father's  rebuke  and  the  contempt  with  which 
the  daughter — if  such  bhe  were — had  received  the 
»nnouncenient  of  his  name  and  title,  from  which 
he  had  expected  very  different  results. 

"These  Colonials,"  he  reflected,  "hold  their  in- 
fernal heads  hip;h.  We  shall  have  to  teach  them  a 
lesson  or  two.  As  for  the  father  or  husband,  which- 
ever he  rray  be,"  he  struck  one  clenched  hand  upon 
the  palm  of  the  other,  "I  diall  reckon  with  him  yet. 
I  am  more  convinced  than  ever  that  I  have  seen  the 


SHOALS  AND  QUICKSAND 


67 


fellow  ere  nam,  and  it  might  be  of  value  if  I  could 
but  remember  where.  What  an  air  the  girl  has,  what 
a  carri^e  of  the  head!  By  all  the  gods,  she  hath 
beaMty  ami  a  style  that  belies  her  surroundings  in 
this  curw4  hoie  of  a  Manhattan." 

Wltm  the  unwelcome  visitor  was  completely  out 
of  ^1^,  Evelyn  entered  the  study  where  her  father 
was  pacing  to  and  fro  in  some  agitation. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "that  was  a  pestilent  visitor  you 
had,  Evelyn,  in  this  Prosser  WiUiams." 

"You  caught  his  name  with  wonderful  precision," 
said  Evelyn,  laughing. 

"I  have  some  knowledge  of  him  before,  and,  were 
he  twenty  times  a  member  trf  the  Governor's  House- 
hold, he  is  the  last  man  I  should  welcome  to  my  house. 
And,"  he  added  with  some  annoyance,  "by  what  ill 
fortune  did  he  find  his  way  hither?" 

EveljTi  had  a  tolerable  certainty  that  it  was  no 
fortvme  at  all,  good  or  bad,  which  had  brought  the 
intruder  to  the  garden  gate,  but  deliberate  intention 
on  his  part.  For  she  had  qaught  his  gaze  full  upon 
her  on  the  few  occasions  when  she  chanced  to  be 
near  him.  Still,  she  did  not  care  to  put  this  intuition 
into  words. 

"After  all,  dear  heart,"  she  said,  "it  matters  little. 
What  harm  can  he  do?" 

"That  is  to  be  seen,"  said  Mr.  de  Lacey  with  a  sigh. 
"He  is  a  dangerous  enemy,  and  serving  such  a 
master — " 

But  tb^re  he  stopped. 

"I  had  another  visitor  this  morning,"  Evelyn 
beg.-in,  by  way  of  diverting  him  from  the  late  in- 
cident which  she  saw  had  seriously  upset  him. 

"Another  visitor?"  questioned  the  father. 

"Yes,  while  you  were  out.    One  who  went  fiuther 


66     GERALD  oe  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

than  this  Captain  Williams,  and  asked  me  to  act 
as  guide  through  the  streets  of  the  dty." 

''To  act  as  guide?"  echoed  the  father. 

"Yes.  And  the  visitor,  being  this  time  of  the 
feminine  gender,  I  was  forced  to  consent." 

"Why  were  you  forced,  and  who  was  this  com- 
peUing  personage?"  inquired  the  father. 

"She  described  herself  as  a  bird  escaped  from  the 
cage,  answered  Evelyn,  "and  her  cage  was  in  the 
preancts  of  the  Fort." 

A  flash  of  quick  intelligence  crossed  Mr.  de  Lacey's 
face.  ' 

"My  Lady  Bellomont!"  he  exclaimed. 

"Yes,  Her  Excellency." 

There  was  silence  in  the  room,  for  to  Gerald  de 
Lacey  this  second  meeting  was  scarcely  less  un- 
welcome than  the  first.  He  could  readily  imagine 
how  a  woman  of  lady  Bellomont's  calibre  might 
be  attracted  by  Evelyn's  freshness  and  charm.  Such 
a  fancy  on  her  part  could  be  little  more  than  a  fine 
lady  s  whim,  but  under  existing  circumstances  it 
nught  be  dangerous  in  the  upshot,  and  anything 
like  mtimacy  would  prove  unsettling,  and  in  more 
ways  than  one  undesirable,  for  Eveljm  He  was 
tolerably  familiar  with  the  Countess's  antecedents, 
and,  though  Dame  Rumor  had  not  alleged  anything 
positively  evil  against  the  lady,  many  tongues  had 
been  busy  with  her  name  during  the  absence  of  Lord 
BeUomont  at  his  former  post.  One  thing  at  least 
was  certam,  that  she  had  spent  those  years  in  the 
most  riotous  company  that  the  gav  society  of  the 
Enghsh  capital  could  afford. 

Now  it  must  be  owned  that  Evelyn  had  been 
flattered  by  the  particular  notice  of  the  courtly 
dame,  and  she  only  regretted  that  prudence  forbade 


SHOALS  AND  QUICKSAND  69 

her  to  mention  the  episode  of  that  morning  to  Polly 
Van  Cortlandt  or  others  of  her  associates.  The 
dder  woman  had  indeed  exercised  a  certain  fascina- 
tion over  her  inexperienced  mind.  She  had  piqued 
her  curiosity,  and  given  her  a  vivid  desire  to  meet 
again  and  know  more  intimately  that  product  of  a 
far  different  Kfe.  Something  of  this  feeUng  she  per- 
mitted to  ^jpear  in  the  lively  description  she  gave 
her  father  of  the  lady's  appearance  and  manner. 
and  of  her  dehght  at  the  quainter  aspects  of  Man- 
hattan and  her  admiration  of  its  beauties.  Sealed 
m  his  favorite  chair  near  his  table,  upon  which  feU 
the  full  hght  of  that  early  summer  noon,  Mr.  de 
La.cey  regarded  his  daughter  with  the  half-whimsical 
naif-melancholy  smile  which  made  his  face  so  at- 
tractive—with that  same  attraction  which  was  con- 
spicuous in  Evelyn. 

"My  dearest,"  he  said,  "I  wonder  by  what 
fatality  it  is  that  we  elderr  have  to  assume  forever 
the  r61e  of  beacons,  pointing  out  the  hidden  dangers 
of  the  fairest  coasts." 

He  sighed,  for  in  truth  he,  whose  life  had  held 
so  much  of  adventure  and  brought  him  into  contact 
with  so  many  and  such  notable  personages,  in  many 
and  varied  scenes,  could  fully  sympathize  with  the 
mterest  thus  awakened  in  his  daughter.  He  knew 
that  her  poetic  and  imaginative  mind  had  been 
charmed  by  the  glimpses  offered  her  of  an  enchanted 
territory. 

"It  is  an  unamiable  office,"  he  continued,  with  a 
wry  face, ' '  but  alas !  useful.  I  must  exercise  it  when 
I  remind  you  that  that  fair  coast  in  questior  under 
existing  circumstances,  may  have  numberless  shoals 
and  q«ucksands.  Our  little  bark  must  steer  away 
from  it,  at  least  until  wq  can  take  the  soundings." 


70      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

See-'ng  the  look  of  disappointment  tnat  passed 
acrosi  his  daughter's  face,  he  cried  impulsively: 

"Ah,  Evelyn,  little  Evelyn,  you  find  it  hard  to 
forgive  the  beacon  I" 

This  was  sufficient  to  arouse  that  other  side  of 
Evelyn's  nature  and  bring  it  to  his  assistance,  so 
that  she  could  assure  him,  though  not  in  words,  that 
she  was  prepared  t<  follow  a  light  that  she  had  found 
hitherto  so  trus*-v, . -''ly. 

After  the  gi")  A  left  the  room,  intent  on  some 
domestic  probli  .1  which  led  her  to  the  kitchen  and 
the  comxjany  of  their  negro  servant,  Mr.  de  Lacey 
had  to  struggle  with  his  own  desire  that  Evelyn 
should  appear  as  became  her  birth  and  antecedents, 
and  shine  as  it  seemed  evident  she  could  do,  if  the 
opporcimity  were  given,  at  the  viceregal  court.  But, 
apar'o  I'rom  my  I^y  Bellomont  altogether,  such 
faiowledge  as  he  had  of  the  Governor  and  of  his  past 
made  him  aware  of  the  dangers  which  might  accrue 
to  them  both  if  they  were  brought  too  much  to  his 
notice.  Their  own  safety  lay  in  obscurity,  in  so  far 
as  those  people  were  concerned.  For  Lord  Bellomont 
had  been  active  against  James  IL  and  had  been  by 
him  attainted  and  deprived  of  offices  and  emolu- 
ments. Hence,  there  was  likely  to  be  great  rancor  in 
his  mind  against  all  who  had  been  adherents  of  the 
late  monarch.  Also,  he  was  known  as  a  bitter  anti- 
Catholic,  and  here  again  Gerald  de  Lacey  knew  that 
there  might  be  danger.  The  Governors  who  had 
fcllowed  Dongan,  though  themselves  Protestants, 
had  given  but  little  heed  to  religious  questions.  But 
with  this  one,  he  felt  certain,  it  would  be  difierent, 
all  the  more  so  as  John  Nanfan  and  others  of  the 
aame  stripe  were  hi^  in  his  favor. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  DAWNING  OF  LOVB 

EVELYN  DE  LACEY  and  PoUy  Van  Cortlandt 
were  vaiting  together  in  that  solemn,  tapes- 
tned  room  upstairs  where  Madam  Van  Cortlandt 
received  her  guests.  They  were  waiting  impatiently 
for  that  solemn  function  to  be  over,  when  they 
might  go  down  to  join  in  the  dance  that  would 
presently  be  inaugurated  to  the  sound  of  black 
Caesar's  fiddle. 

The  sunset  light  was  still  beautifying  the  air  of 
Manhattan.  The  atmosphere  was  all  burnished 
gold,  with  here  and  there  light  flecks  of  pink,  or 
green  or  violet,  falling  over  the  two  rivers  and  the 
harbor,  whence  great  ships  sailed  forth  to  distant 
trading  ports.  Glinting  as  they  fell  on  the  guns  at 
the  Fort,  the  rays  formed  a  glory  about  Nutten 
Island,  whither  the  thick  clusters  of  nuts  had  tempted 
some  school-boys  and  had  all  but  precipitated, 
thnwgh  their  presence  there,  an  Indian  massacre. 
Falling  over  Staten  Island  and  the  heights  of  Sewa- 
naka  and  the  cliffs  of  the  Brookl}^  shore;  falling 
on  the  town  of  Manhattan,  with  its  solid  and  sub- 
stantial houses,  flanked  by  gardens;  on  its  interlying 
clusters  o£  woodland  and  its  graft  or  stream,  flowing 
aerendy  where  later  a  populous  thoroughfare  was 
to  cany  its  thousands  of  daily  wayfarers;  falling  on 


i; 

V  I 


I 

1 


71      GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

the  Dutch  church,  within  the  confines  of  the  Port, 
on  that  of  the  Huguenots,  and  on  Trinity,  the  place 
of  worship  of  the  English  colonists;  falling  over  the 
country  houses  that  dotted  the  villages  of  Chelsea 
and  Greenwich. 

The  smell  of  the  "laylocks"  was  in  the  air,  and 
floated  in  through  the  windows  of  that  mansion 
where  the  festivities  were  on  foot;  it  mingled  with 
thc«e  of  a  dozen  other  flowers  or  flowering  shrubs, 
which  adorned  that  prim  and  formal  garden — a 
garden  which,  despite  its  size,  compared  ill  with 
that  other  wherein  Evelyn  de  Lacey  reigned  as  a 
queen  among  the  flowers.  Here  the  paes  bloemen, 
as  the  Dutch  called  them,  were  but  secondary  to 
the  rows  of  trees,  standing  sentinel,  and  the  prim 
boxwood  hedges  and  borders  for  the  flower-beds. 

Near  the  window,  looking  out  upon  its  orderly 
neatness,  stood  Polly  and  Evelyn,  making  that 
striking  contrast  which  always  impressed  the  ob- 
server. The  tapestried  room  with  its  dark  walls, 
rich  in  storied  interest,  offered  an  excellent  back- 
ground for  what  was  really  the  beautiful  picture  of 
the  two  girls.  In  the  foreground  was  the  impressive 
figure  of  Madam  Van  Cortlandt,  richly  clad  in  a 
gown  of  mulberry  silk  with  trimmings  of  lace  to 
match  the  cap  upon  her  hrad.  In  her  ears  were 
those  jewels  that  had  come  down  as  an  heirloom 
through  generations. 

This  was  the  picture  that  caught  the  eye  of  the 
two  men  who  had  walked  thither  from  the  Fort, 
coming  togethe,-  ,;ot  for  any  love  of  each  other's 
company,  but  because  their  destination  chanced  to 
be  the  same.  These  men  were  Captain  Egbert 
Ferrers  and  Captain  Prosser  Williams.  The  eyes  of 
both  involuntarily  turned  from  Madam  Van  Cort- 


THE  DAWNING  OF  LOVE 


73 


landt,  who  gave  them  ceremonious  greeting,  passed 
over  Polly,  brilliant  and  attractive  as  was  her  ap- 
pearance, and  fastened  themselves  upon  that  other, 
who,  in  the  opinion  of  both,  outdistanced  all  com- 
petitors. In  another  instant  they  had  been  intro- 
duced and  were  bending  low  over  the  hands  which 
the  girls,  in  their  character  of  hostesses,  extended. 

Such  an  introduction  had  been  eagerly  sought  by 
both  men  ever  since  their  arrival  in  the  country, 
and,  it  having  seemed  difficult  to  secure.  Captain 
Prosser  Williams  had  endeavored  to  forestall  it, 
as  has  been  seen,  in  a  way  which  he  now  bitterly 
regretted.  He  knew  that  his  cause  was  already 
prejudiced  in  the  eyes  of  that  girl,  whom,  here  in 
these  stately  surroundings,  it  appeared  more  than 
ever  worth  while  to  please.  It  is  true  that  she  gave 
no  sign  of  having  had  any  previous  knowledge  of 
him,  and  extended  her  hand  without  the  slightest 
trace  of  embarrassment  or  resentment.  At  that 
moment  he  saw  that,  in  her  eyes,  he  was  merely  a 
guest  of  Madam  Van  Cortlandt,  whom  she  received 
with  courtesy,  as  in  duty  bound.  But  in  some  fashion 
or  another  she  conveyed  to  him  by  every  word  that 
she  spoke,  and  by  every  gesture  of  her  slender  hand, 
that  he  had  placed  himself  as  far  off  as  the  poles  from 
her,  and  that  there  she  meant  to  keep  him.  Her  at- 
titude only  incited  him  to  a  firm  resolve  to  know  her 
better,  and  only  gave  additional  value  to  herself 
and  her  attractions.  He  felt  the  indiscretion  of 
which  he  had  been  guilty  the  more  keenly,  when 
he  had  time  to  observe  the  elegance,  even  court- 
liness, of  these  surroundings,  where  the  whole  at- 
mosphere was  such  as  to  make  condescension,  much 
less  insolence,  an  absurdity. 

Evelyn  talked  with  the  two  men  indifferently. 


MICROCOPY   lESOlUTION   TEST   CHART 

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■  3.6 


■  25 
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74      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

But,  when  the  strains  of  old  Caesar's  fiddle  came  in- 
vitingly up  the  broad  stairs,  she  promised  the  first 
country  dance  to  Captain  Egbert  Ferrers,  who  was 
prompt  to  seize  the  opportunity,  and  found  all  her 
dances  engaged  for  Captain  Williams  until  so  late 
an  hour  in  the  evening  that  it  amounted  to  a  re- 
fusal. Biting  his  thin  lips  with  vexation  as  he  fol- 
lowed the  other  guests  downstairs  where  the  dancing 
was  to  take  place,  he  vowed  that  he  would  take  no 
other  partner  for  their  infernal  country  dances,  and 
stood  sulkily  against  the  wall,  wearing  his  most 
supercilious  expression. 

There  was  a  soft  glow  of  excitement  on  Evelyn's 
cheeks,  a  light  of  interest  in  her  eyes,  which  made  her 
face  more  charming;  and  the  smile  that  she  bestowed 
upon  her  partner  as  she  passed  close  to  where  Will- 
iams was  standing,  made  him  once  more  curse  his 
own  stupidity.  For  he  now  clearly  perceived  that 
he  had  irretrievably  lowered  himself  in  the  eyes  of 
this  glorious  girl,  who  he  knew  was  the  daughter  and 
not  the  wife  of  Mr.  de  Lacey,  and,  as  he  told  himself 
regretfully,  the  only  one  worth  a  second  glance  in 
all  this  mudhole.  But,  even  as  he  paid  her  that  trib- 
ute, he  began  to  feel  something  like  malignant 
hatred  against  her,  which  his  admiration  only  in- 
creased. That  she,  a  mere  provincial,  should  de- 
liberately attempt  to  snub  a  man  connected  with 
some  of  the  most  influential  families  of  Great  Bri- 
tain and  occupying  his  present  position — a  man, 
too,  who  had  been  regarded  as  an  arbiter  of  fashion 
and  of  beauty,  who  had  moved  with  a  distinction 
sufficient  to  satisfy  even  his  wn  overweening  ego- 
tism through  that  gay  and  brilliant  society  of  which 
my  Lady  Bellomont  had  been  a  leader — ^was  galling 
in  the  extreme. 


THE  DAWNING  OF  LOVE 


75 


As  for  the  other  member  of  His  Excellency's 
staff,  it  was  clear  that  he  was  frankly  and  entirely 
fascinated.  He  had  never  been  a  lady's  man,  and 
was  held  in  fact  to  be  quite  imptTvious  to  feminine 
charms.  But  this  young  girl  of  the  colonies  appealed 
to  him  in  such  a  variety  of  ways  that  he  found  her 
simply  irresistible.  In  the  firet  place  v/ere  those 
personal  attractions  of  hers,  which  were  justly  cele- 
brated in  the  most  exclusive  circles  of  Manhattan, 
but  which  he  did  not  seek  to  analyse,  for  they  satis- 
fied him  entirely.  He  liked,  too,  her  simplicity  and 
directness  of  speech  and  manner,  the  absence  of 
conscious  effort  to  attract.  He  liked  the  touch  of 
the  unusual  about  her,  and  the  subtle  charm  arising 
from  the  poetry  of  her  nature  as  woll  as  from  an 
uncommon  power  of  sympathy.  All  the  women  he 
had  known  seemed,  in  comparison  to  this  girl,  arti- 
ficial and  insipid.  It  was  not  often,  he  thought, 
that  mind  and  matter  were  so  happily  combined, 
and  he  freely  acknowledged  that  it  was  to  his  un- 
doing. He  had  seen  the  girl  scarcely  a  dozen  times 
in  all;  he  had  never  spoken  to  her  before  that  eve- 
ning, and  yet  they  were  already  in  sympathy,  on  ex- 
cellent understanding.  As  any  shrewd  observer 
might  have  perceived,  this  soldier,  who  had  distin- 
guished himself  in  more  than  one  campaign,  was  more 
than  half  in  love.  He  would  not  have  believed  it 
possible,  had  he  been  told  so  a  month  or  even  a 
fortnight  previous.  With  scarcely  an  effort,  beyon^ 
the  mere  desire  of  her  sex  to  be  agreeable,  Evelyn 
de  Lacey  had  conquered  a  heart  that  had  withstood 
many  a  stubborn  onslaught.  So  absorbed  was  Cap- 
tain Ferrers  that  he  scarcely  noticed  the  massive, 
oaken  staircase  by  which  they  descended,  nor  the 
rich  furnishings  of  the  rooms  below,  where  even  now 


1 

t    I 

i 


il'^ 


76      GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

the  negro  servants  were  busy  lighting  wax  tapers  in 
sconces  all  around  the  walls. 

Evelyn,  on  her  part,  was  decidedly  pleased  with 
her  partner,  of  whom  she  had  retained  a  favorable 
impression  from  that  day  upon  the  Bowling  Green. 
His  manner,  in  its  absence  of  affectation,  won  her 
approval;,  bright  and  sympathetic,  he  was  quick  to 
catch  the  point  of  a  jest,  or  to  be  moved  when  the 
topic  was  grave.  Moreover,  she  was  woman  enough 
to  feel  that  it  was  a  feather  in  her  cap  to  have  been 
claimed  for  the  first  dance  by  this  officer  of  the 
Household,  Virho  was  already  gaining  popularity  in 
the  town.  She  was  by  no  means  averse  to  heighten 
the  excellent  impression  which  she  was  quick  to 
perceive  she  had  made.  Polly  had  often  taxed  her 
with  being  fond  of  admiration,  and  she  had  to  con- 
fess to  herself  that  she  was.  Only  she  knew  how  to 
discriminate,  and  did  not  care  for  all  sorts  of  ad- 
miration; it  must  be  something  worth  while. 

So  the  two,  being  mutually  satisfied  and  there- 
fore in  the  best  of  spirits,  set  out  to  dance  with  a 
number  of  other  couples  "La  Belle  Katherine,"  that 
favorite  of  country  dances,  and  they  at  least  en- 
joyed it  to  the  uttermost.  When  the  dance  was 
finished.  Captain  Ferrers,  with  a  certain  diffidence 
that  Evelyn  found  to  her  taste,  made  a  request 
which  was  not  as  modest  as  his  demeanor. 

"If  I  might  hope,"  he  said,  "to  be  favored  with 
another  and  again  another  dance?" 

Now  Evelyn  would  have  felt  very  well  inclined 
to  dance  with  that  agreeable  man  all  evening,  if 
only  because  he  was  a  change  from  her  ordinary 
partners.  But,  apart  from  the  fact  that  she  had 
already  promised  most  of  her  dances,  she  knew  what 
the  rigid  etiquette  of  the  town  demanded,  and  was 


THE  DAWNING  OF  LOVE 


77 


never  over-lavish  of  her  favors.  So  that  Captain 
Ferrers  had  to  be  content  with  the  last  dance  be- 
fore supper,  which  took  place  about  half-past  nine, 
after  which  the  dancing  ceased.  And  though  he 
did  not  imitate  his  brother-officer  in  standing  at 
the  wall  and  looking  sulky,  but  promptly  engaged 
Mistress  Polly  and  half  a  dozen  others,  he  had  none 
the  less  lost  interest  in  the  festivity,  and  waited 
with  an  impatience,  which  happily  he  did  not  show, 
for  his  next  dance  with  Evelyn. 

Meanwhile,  Captain  Williams,  reconsidering  his 
first  decision,  made  his  bow  and  requested  the  honor 
of  a  dance  with  Mistress  Polly  Van  Cortlandt,  the 
more  especially  as  he  saw  her  surrounded  by  a  goodly 
number  of  those  whom  he  cJready  knew  to  be  the 
most  eligible  young  men  of  the  colony.  He  could 
catch  now  and  again  some  bright  or  witty  remark 
of  Polly's,  and  hear  her  pleasar'  augh  sounding 
nmsically  through  the  room.  Su  uy,  he  decided, 
such  a  partner  was  not  to  be  despised,  and  more- 
over it  might  be  possible  to  hear  from  her  some  of 
those  particulars  he  wanted  to  know  about  her  friend. 
Of  course.  Mistress  Polly's  dances  were  already 
promised,  but,  unlike  Evelyn,  she  managed  to  find 
one  for  this  me-'ber  of  the  Governor's  staff,  who  had 
the  glamor  c  :!rseas  about  him.  She  was  nat- 
urally the  mc .  ■;  anxious  to  do  so,  since  she  per- 
ceived that  Evelyn  had  already  appropriated  the 
other  officer. 

In  the  course  of  conversation.  Captain  Prosser 
Williams  managed  to  secure  from  Polly  a  good  many 
bits  of  information  about  the  elusive  Evelyn,  in 
whom,  however,  he  tactfully  avoided  showing  any 
special  interest.  Though  he  was  quick  to  perceive 
that  the  honest-hearted  girl  was  enthusiastically  de- 


If 


m 


m 


till 


78     GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

voted  to  her  friend,  he  c)mically  wondered  how  such 
a  friendship  would  endure  the  strain  of  some  bitter 
rivalry  or  some  adverse  interest.  He  determined 
in  any  case  to  stand  well  with  Polly,  for  he  clearly 
perceived  that  this  house  of  the  Van  Cortlandts 
was  likely  to  play  a  considerable  part  in  such  social 
activities  as  the  colony  might  afford.  And,  whatever 
might  be  his  supercilious  attitude  towards  Colonials 
in  general  and  denizens  of  the  Dutch  metropolis  in 
particular,  he  was  by  this  time  aware  that  the  so- 
ciety of  some  of  them  might  be  eminently  well 
worth  cultivating.  So  much  had  he  learned  since  he 
had  been  willing  to  agree  with  my  Lady  Bellomont 
that  death  would  be  preferable  to  an  enforced  exile 
in  these  overseas  possessions. 

Vvhen  supper  was  served.  Captain  Williams  and 
his  partner  were  in  such  a  position  'hat  they  could 
observe  both  Captain  Ferrers  and  Evelyn,  and  even 
exchange  scraps  of  conversation  with  tbem.  Captain 
Williams  was  quick  to  perceive  the  look  of  interest 
on  the  face  of  his  fellow-soldier,  a  look  to  which  the 
girl  fully  responded.  This  fact  was  immediately 
noted  by  the  quick-witted  Polly,  who  cried  out: 

"What  can  be  the  absorbing  topic  that  interests 
you  two  so  much?" 

Both  seemed  slightly  disconcerted  at  the  ques- 
tion, which  Captain  Ferrers  lightly  parried,  indulg- 
ing in  a  fine  play  of  words  with  the  hvely  and  viva- 
cious Polly.  But  it  was  evident  that  he  had  aroused 
himself  from  something  much  more  absorbing,  for 
with  Evelyn  he  had  been  discussing  some  of  those 
personal  topics  which  are  sure  to  arise  when  two 
people  are  fully  in  sympathy. 

At  that  moment  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  entered 
the  dining-room,  followed  by  negro  servants  carry- 


THE  DAWNING  OF  ^OVE 


79 


ing  huge  silver  salvers  on  which  were  dishes  of 
roasted  oysters,  bread,  butter  and  celery.  Whan 
justice  was  done  to  these  viands  amid  a  Uvely  fire 
of  talk  from  the  four,  who  had  now  moved  thei- 
places  together,  the  oysters  were  followed  by  jel- 
lies, custards  and  whipped  cream,  served  in  tall 
glasses,  and  that  variety  of  kuchen  (or  small  cakes) 
for  which  the  Dutch  housewives  were  famous. 
There  was  much  jesting  upon  some  kuchen,  thickly 
studded  with  nuts,  which  Polly  herself  had  made 
and  shaped  into  the  devices  of  hearts  and  "true 
lovers'  laiots." 

"True  lovers'  knots,"  said  Captain  Ferrers,  ab- 
sently taking  one  of  the  cakes  in  his  hand  and  gaz- 
ing at  it  as  though  he  were  pondering  some  weighty 
problem. 

"How  far  and  how  long  do  they  bind  those  of 
your  inconstant  sex?"  Captain  Williams  adced  of 
Polly,  though  his  eyes  were  reaJHy  fixed  upon  Evelyn. 

"If  our  sex  be  inconstant,"  said  Evelyn,  Ughtly 
taking  up  the  challenge,  "why  should  it  not  be  so, 
since  all  things  in  life  change?" 

Then  Williams  distinctly  heard  Captain  Ferrers 
say,  though  he  had  drawn  back  a  little  from  the  others 
and  spoke  in  a  whisper: 

"No,  you  would  never  be  inconstant.  With  you, 
believe  me,  love  would  be  till  death." 

"And  why  not  after?"  responded  Evelsm,  half 
laughing  and  yet  with  a  shadow  of  seriousness  in 
her  lovely  eyes. 

"After  death?"  said  Ferrers.  "Oh,  I  cannot  fol- 
low you  so  far." 

Then  was  felt  that  sudden  gravity  which  falls  at 
tim^  on  the  lightest  conversation,  as  if  from  a 
passing  realization  of  the  inherent  gravity  of  life, 


'''I 


A. 


8o      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

Prosser  Williams  felt  a  slight  shiver  run  through 
him,  as  though  he  were  being  present  at  a  tragedy 
of  some  sort.  He  hated  all  such  sensations,  and  he 
also  hated  Evelyn  because  she  refused  to  discuss 
any  question  seriously  with  him. 

Polly  Van  Cortlandt's  quick  wit  soon  brought  it 
home  to  her  that  she  was  being  overlooked  in  this 
conversation,  and  that  the  seriousness  of  the  other 
three  had  left  her,  as  a  child  might  be  left,  laughing 
on  a  shore.  She  began  to  think  that,  after  all,  those 
gay  groups  of  her  own  Company  were  preferable — 
the  boys  and  girls  with  whom  in  childhood  she  had 
picked  nuts  -r  berries  on  the  Catiemuts  or  other 
hills,  in  baskets  bought  from  the  Wilden  and  ot  the 
Company's  chosen  color  of  green.  For  Polly  had 
always  desired  that  her  Company  should  follow 
the  color  of  hope.  Those  boys  and  girls  were  now 
young  men  and  women  grown,  but  Polly  was  none 
the  less  their  leader  and  their  queen.  She  felt 
curiously  piqued,  and  her  good  temper  was  ever  so 
slightly  niffled.  Too  loyal  to  Evelyn  to  accuse  her 
— for  indeed,  as  her  sense  of  justice  told  her,  Evelyn 
was  not  to  blame — she  blamed  rather  these  cavaliers 
from  overseas,  and  especially  her  own  partner. 
Captain  Williams.  For  she  could  not  deny  that,  if 
he  were  supercilious  and  affected.  Captain  Ferrers 
was  decidedly  likeable,  even  if  he  had  permitted 
himself  to  become  absorbed  in  her  fascinating  friend. 

Polly  was  not  sorry  when,  the  supper  having  dis- 
appeared, they  returned  to  the  drawing-room  where 
tables  were  set  for  cards.  Noi  was  she  sorry  to  rid 
herself  of  the  society  of  Prosser  Williams,  and  to 
reign  with  her  usual  undisputed  sway  at  a  table  of 
basset.  The  older  people  were  presently  ranged  at 
other  tables,  where  negroes  had  placed  sUver  candle- 


THE  DAWNING  OF  LOVE  8i 

sticks  with  wix  candles  to  aid  their  failing  sight, 
and  gold-lacquered  boxes  of  ivory  fishes  for  counters, 
besides  little  piles  of  Louis  d'ors,  doubloons,  or  other 
foreign  coins.  At  these  tables  might  be  seen  en- 
gaged in  the  more  serious  game  of  lansquenet  some 
of  the  chief  men  of  the  colony.  There  were  twj  of 
Madam  Van  Cortlandt's  sons,  who  already  had 
stolid  sons  of  their  own.  There  were  Nicholas  Bay- 
ard, and  Philip  Livingston,  and  Mynheer  de  Vries; 
there  were  Phillipses,  Van  Rensselaers,  Lawrences 
and  de  Peysters,  though  these  latter  were  on  the 
other  sice  of  politics.  There  were  Delanceys,  Van 
Brughs,  de  Mills,  Van  Schaicks  and  de  Riemers, 
both  men  and  women,  all  of  whom  were  soon  mutely 
engrossed  in  their  favorite  pastime.  They  dealt 
their  cards,  their  kings  and  their  cavaliers,  their 
knechts  or  knaves,  their  atouts,  with  as  much  serious- 
ness as  though  they  were  playing  that  game  of  life 
which,  even  in  the  quiet  town  of  Manhattan,  was 
just  then  becoming  complicated. 

Eveljm,  like  Polly,  took  her  place  at  a  table  of 
basset,  which  was  played  by  most  of  the  younger 
people,  and  had  beside  her  Pieter  Schuyler,  one  of 
the  best-known  young  men  in  town  and  her  devoted 
admirer.  He  was  short  and  broad-shouldered  and 
had  brown  eyes  that  laughed  a  great  deal  in  fellow- 
ship with  a  set  of  white  teeth.  He  was  foremost 
in  all  sports,  and  enjoyed  a  wide  popularity.  Madam 
Van  Cortlandt  had  it  very  much  at  heart  to  make  a 
match  between  these  two  people.  She  would  be 
glad  to  have  him  for  Polly,  save  that  he  was  re- 
lated to  her  within  the  forbidden  degrees,  and  that 
there  was  the  other  and  still  more  unsurmountable 
obstacle — he  showed  no  special  preference  for 
Polly's  society.    His  father  was  a  man  of  wealth  and 


IP 


1'^ 

ri 


82      GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

influence  in  the  colony,  and,  since  Polly  was  out  of 
the  question.  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  would  fain 
have  secured  him  for  Evelyn,  whom  she  regarded 
almost  as  another  granddaughter.  She  beamed  ap- 
proval, therefore,  when  she  saw  them  side  by  side 
at  the  table  and  evidently  upon  the  best  of  terms. 
For  Evelyn  sincerely  liked  Pieter,  though  she  had 
never  thought  of  him  in  the  light  of  a  possible  hus- 
band. 

It  had  not  been,  either,  without  design  that  the 
sharp-sighted  old  lady,  who  had  observed  the  trend 
of  affairs  that  evening,  had  placed  both  Captain 
Ferrers  and  his  brother-officer  at  table  with  the  older 
people,  where,  as  she  said,  they  were  sure  of  a  good 
game.  Now  it  must  be  owned  that,  while  Captain 
Ferrers  courteously  did  his  best  to  enter  into  the 
play,  his  thoughts  were  often  wandering,  and  he 
would  readily  have  exchanged  the  better  game  for 
the  worse  to  have  been  at  the  table  with  Mistress 
de  Lacey.  Captain  Williams,  on  the  other  hand, 
with  the  instinct  of  a  bom  gambler,  was  soon  ab- 
sorbed in  the  cards  with  a  success  betokened  by  the 
increasing  pile  of  coins  in  front  of  him. 

Ferrers  noticed  that  Evelyn  entered  with  the 
greatest  enjoyment  into  the  game  that  she  was 
playing,  though  it  was  not  for  coins,  that  being 
deemed  unsuitable  for  the  young  folk.  Also  he  saw 
that  she  appeared  to  be  on  terms  of  the  friendliest 
intimacy  with  the  good-looking  youth  at  her  side. 


CHAPTER  X 


m 


THE  WHITE  FLOvVER  AND  THE  EAGLE 

ONE  fine  morning,  when  the  summer  was  in 
its  golden  prime,  Evelyn  took  her  way  to  that 
camp  on  the  banks  of  the  Collect  Pond  in  the  shadow 
of  the  Catiemuts  Hill,  where  the  Wilden  had  their 
encampment.  Her  mission  just  then  was  to  procure 
some  of  the  wax  from  the  bay  berries  for  the  waxing 
of  the  floors,  and  some  fresh  fish  from  the  Rocka- 
ways,  a  certain  number  of  whom  had  arrived  but 
the  day  before  and  marched  up  the  Broad  Way, 
their  faces  painted  blood-red  with  the  juice  of  the 
beet  root.  The  morning  was  rarely  fine,  the  treiis 
were  all  fresh  from  the  recent  showers  and  gave  forth 
sweet  perfumes;  the  birds,  trilling  softly,  seemed 
the  voices  of  those  trees  in  the  shelter  of  which  were 
groups  of  men  and  women,  native  to  the  soil,  with 
bronzed  faces,  coarse,  straight  hair,  and  costumes  of 
sldns,  enlivened  especially  in  the  case  of  the  squaws 
with  adornments  of  fl.  ning  color. 

The  coming  of  the  girl  was  greeted  wit*-  such 
demonstrations  of  joy  as  these  people  permitted 
themselves.  Evelyn  had  been  long  since  adopted 
a  member  of  the  tribe,  being  looked  upon  a:  a  great 
"medicine  woman,"  for  she  had  often  successfully 
used  in  their  behalf  remedies  which  she  had  learned 
from  old  Doctor  Hans  Van  Kierstade,  who  had  been 


84      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

until  his  death  a  famous  physician  in  the  colony  and 
had  made  a  pet  of  Evelyn.  He  had  taught  her  to 
compound  salves  and  simples  from  various  herbs, 
and  all  this  knowledge  the  young  girl  had  applied 
to  cure  the  ailments  of  the  savages.  From  the 
Wilden  themselves  she  had  gained  in  turn  many 
valuable  secrets  as  to  the  properties  of  herbs  and 
dyes  to  be  extracted  from  various  plants.  She  had 
brought  her  Indian  friends  on  this  occasion,  as  she 
often  did,  sundry  little  objects  such  as  thimbles, 
scissors,  or  small  mirrors,  these  last  being  especially 
coveted  by  the  squaws.  She  offered  these  objects 
as  gifts  or  bartered  them  for  fish  and  other  com- 
modities;. She  seated  herself  familiarly  on  a  grassy 
knoll,  aid  conversed  with  the  savages  in  their  own 
tongue,  which  she,  in  common  with  many  young 
people  of  the  town,  had  picked  up  from  frequent 
association  with  the  tribespeople  almost  from  child- 
hood upwards.  For  it  was  one  secret  of  Evelyn's 
influence  at  the  encampment  that  she,  more  than  any 
of  the  others,  had  gained  a  proficiency  in  their  dia- 
lects. Having  rested  after  her  walk,  she  made  her 
purchases  of  fish  and  other  articles,  conversing 
pleasantly  with  young  and  old  alike.  But,  this 
bartering  concluded,  she  approached  a  group  of 
girls,  who  were  busy  stringing  clam  shells  together 
for  wampum  or  seuiant.  Such  strings  of  shells  passed 
as  currency  among  the  Indians,  and  made  these 
tribes — the  Manhattas,  from  whom  the  Dutch  me- 
tropolis took  one  of  its  names,  and  the  Rockaways, 
who  inhabited  a  district  still  nearer  the  sea — the 
richest  of  Indians,  because  they  could  collect  the 
most  shells.  In  a  few  moments  Evel)m  was  deep 
in  conversation  with  these  workers,  and  from  their 
signs  and  gestures,  and  those  made  by  their  visitor, 


THE  WHITF  FLOWER  AND  THE  EAGLE  85 

it  was  evident  that  the  subject  under  discussion 
was  one  of  great  gravity.  She  was.  in  fact,  instruct- 
ing her  special  class  of  Christian  catechumens.  She 
was  continuing  amongst  them  the  work  begun  with 
Uie  elders  of  the  tribe  by  Father  Harvey  and  other 
Jesuits,  who  had  lived  within  the  precincts  of  the 
Fort  in  the  time  of  Governor  Dongan,  and  had  still 
rjMjded  there  even  under  his  immediate  successor. 
They  had  used  all  their  efforts  to  christianize  the 
tnbes  until  the  stormy  times  of  Leisler  had  driven 
them  away.  It  is  true  that  members  of  the  Sodety 
01  Jesus  continued  to  come  thither  from  Maryland 
or  Philadelphia  from  time  to  time  to  minister  by 
stealth  to  the  few  white  Catholics  r  to  preach  the 
Gospel  to  the  savages.  But,  sine  .here  was  close 
watch  kept  to  prevent  such  visits  and  such  minis- 
trations, these  were  naturally  few  and  tar  between, 
and  Evelyn  had  taken  it  upon  herself,  grea  as 
was  the  nsk  of  discovery,  to  teach  the  Indian  Is 
and  children  their  Catechism  and  nourish  in  uieir 
hearts  the  seed  which  the  missionaries  had  sown. 

It  was  while  she  was  thus  engaged  that  Captain 
Fmers  appeared  upon  the  scene.  He  had  come 
thither  in  quest  of  fish  for  the  gubernatorial  house- 
hold, and  was  pleasantly  surprised  to  find  Evelyn 
de  Lacey  amongst  the  Wilden.  He  stood  aside  for 
a  moment  m  the  shadow  of  a  tree  to  observe  the  scene, 
and,  as  some  perception  of  its  meaning  began  to 
dawn  upon  him,  he  was  filled  with  an  uneasiness 
which  amounted  almost  to  foreboding.  From  her 
upward  gestures  and  the  seriousness  of  her  mien, 
he  was  readily  led  to  suppose  that  she  was  instructing 
these  wild  people  in  the  Christian  mysteries.  That 
in  Itself  presented  her  in  a  new  light,  since  he  had 
thought  of  her  only  as  a  most  ornamental  appanage 


li^: 


86      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

of  drawing-rooms  and  a  channing  companion  in  the 
ways  of  OTdinary  life.  But,  surprising  as  he  found 
the  discovery,  for  one  rarely  expects  to  find  deep 
seriousness  in  what  is  beautiful  and  charming,  he 
would  have  regarded  it  as  merely  another  phase 
in  a  most  interesting  character  had  he  not  been 
suddenly  struck  as  by  a  blow.  For  that  gesture 
which  Evelyn  made  so  frequently,  and  which  the 
savages  imitated,  was  all  too  familiar  to  Ferrers. 
Though  a  Protestant  himself,  in  so  far  as  he  had 
any  religion,  he  had  had  a  Catholic  mother.  She 
had  died  m  his  early  boyhood,  but  he  could  not  be 
mistalcen  in  the  Sign  of  the  Cross.  Like  a  flash  he 
realized  what  the  girl  was  doing,  and  the  peril  in 
which  she  was  thus  involving  herself.  For  he  already 
knew  enough  of  the  disturbed  state  of  Manhattan, 
as  well  as  of  the  fanaticism  rife  in  the  entourage  of 
the  Governor,  to  be  aware  that  the  religion,  of  which 
that  sign  was  the  symbol,  was  now  both  inconven- 
ient and  perilous  to  its  professors  and  likely  to  be 
more  so  in  the  future.  Not  wishing  that  Evelyn 
should  be  just  then  cware  of  his  presence,  he  drew 
further  into  the  shadow  of  the  trees  with  a  feeling  that 
he  was  intruding  on  something  personal  and  nec- 
essarily secret. 

The  instruction  had  apparently  come  to  an  end, 
for  Evelyn  very  wisely  made  it  brief  to  suit  these 
untutored  minds,  and  it  was  evident  that  she  was 
talking  to  them  carelessly  upon  other  topics.  She 
took  up  the  wampum  shells,  and  was  beginning  to 
string  them  with  great  speed  and  dexterity  when 
presently  an  interruption  came.  There  was  a 
wild,  whirring  sound  that  caused  Evelyn  to  spring 
to  her  feet  enthusiastically,  while  an  old  squaw, 
rising  beside  her,  pointed  dramatically  upwards; 


ll'i.;. 


THE  WHITE  FLOWER  AND  THE  EAGLE  87 

vnth  her  withered  hand.  Pigeons  and  various  other 
birds  were  rising  in  such  numbers  that  for  a  moment 
they  almost  obscured  the  brilliant  sunshine.  The 
squaw,  it  was  evident,  was  apostrophizing  them  in 
the  picturesque  language  of  her  race.  To  Evelyn, 
while  the  sight  was  not  new,  it  was  always  impressive. 
It  stirred  her  pulses  and  caused  her  heart  to  beat 
joyously  with  its  movement  of  life  and  freedom, 
Its  swift  rushing  skywards.  Captain  Ferrers  lin- 
gered a  moment  or  two  longer  in  the  shadow  of  the 
trees  to  watch  that  scene,  to  be  struck  with  new 
admiration  for  Evelyn's  fairness,  thrown  into  relief 
as  it  was  by  the  bronzed  skins  of  the  Indiaiis,  and 
for  her  gestures,  so  graceful  and  expressive.  Though 
he  could  not  understand  her  words,  there  was  some- 
thing in  her  whole  attitude  that  gave  the  impression 
of  mental  superiority  and  a  latent  force  which  grave 
circumstances  would  surely  develop.  The  wampum 
workers  and  the  oldest  squaws  gathered  about  her 
and  listened  to  what  she  was  saying,  their  black, 
beady  eyes  passing  from  her  face  to  the  birds  in 
their  flight  overhead.  There  was  an  eager  joyous- 
ness  in  the  girl's  bearing,  as  though  that  breathless 
rush  had  communicated  to  her  its  excitement. 
Her  face,  aglow  with  soft  color,  was  turned  upwards 
so  that  the  curves  of  her  chin  and  the  delicate  poise 
of  her  head  upon  a  slender  neck  were  emphasized. 
Beside  her,  in  hideous  contrast,  was  the  old  squaw 
whose  christian  name  was  Monica,  and  who  with 
bronzed  arm  pointed  towards  the  birds.  Captain 
Ferrers,  stepping  out  from  his  place  of  concealment, 
advanced  to  the  side  of  Evelyn,  who  gave  him  a 
smile  and  a  quick  glance  of  recognition  without  di- 
verting her  attention  from  the  paramount  object  of 
interest  overhead. 


88      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

"It  is  the  birds  going  northwards  to  feed  upon 
the  wild  carrot,"  she  explained,  turning  slightly 
towards  him  while  her  eyes  still  followed  those  winged 
children  of  Nature  far  through  the  blue  vastness  of 
the  sky. 

When  the  birds  were  almost  out  of  sight,  growing 
indistinct  in  the  distance,  Evelyn  with  a  half-sigh 
turned  her  attention  to  the  young  officer,  who  stood 
silently  beside  her,  impressed  by  that  scene  so 
characteristic  and  so  completely  outside  his  previous 
experience. 

"  It  is  so  splendid ! "  she  cried. 

He  agreed  with  her,  presently  adding: 

"I  would  not  have  expected  to  find  you  here." 

"No?"  responded  Evelyn.  "Well,  that  is  be- 
cause you  know  little  of  me  and  my  friendship  for 
these  Wilden,  as  we  call  them  here.  They  have 
made  me  a  member  of  their  tribe." 

He  laughed  in  sympathy  with  her  laugh,  though 
he  was  tmcertain  whether  she  spoke  in  earnest  or  in 
jest.    Presently  deciding  that  it  was  the  former: 

"And  you  speak  their  language?"  he  inquired. 

"Many  of  us  do  here,"  she  answered,  "for,  from 
our  childhood,  they  have  been  amongst  us." 

"You  were  holding  a  very  interesting  conversa- 
tion with  them  but  this  moment,  when  the  birds 
startled  you,"  he  said,  with  some  abruptness. 

At  this  remark  the  laughter  died  out  of  Evelyn's 
eyes,  and  a  veil  of  reserve  was  drawn  between  him 
and  her,  for  that  was  a  subject  upon  which,  per- 
force, she  maintained  the  utmost  secrecy.  The 
keen  eyes  of  Ferrers  noted  that  the  topic  was  un- 
pleasant, and,  but  too  well  aware  of  the  reason,  he 
changed  it. 

"I  have  come  here  for  fish,"  he  explained.      My 


THE  WHITE  FLOWER  AND  THE  EAGLE  89 

Lady  Bellomont  has  a  fancy  to  taste  fish  fresh  from 
the  sea,  which  has  been  brought  hither,  as  some 
have  told  her,  by  these  people.  It  is  highly  com- 
mended." 

"Not  more  than  it  deserves,"  said  Evelyn.  "I 
have  already  made  my  purchases.  There  are  so 
many  things  the  Wilden  have  to  sell." 

She  pointed  towards  a  basket  which  a  young  negro 
girl,  her  attendant,  had  laid  beside  her  on  the  ground. 

"A  visit  here  would  much  entertain  Her  Excel- 
lency," observed  Ferrers,  adding  with  some  crafti- 
ness, "if  you  would  but  deign  some  day  to  act  as 
her  interpreter." 

Evelyn  expressed  her  willingness  to  do  so,  with 
the  thought  in  her  mind  that  she  would  be  by  no 
means  averse  to  see  and  converse  once  more,  and  in 
an  informal  manner,  with  the  lady  of  the  cage.  But 
she  carefidly  refrained  from  saying  ansrthing  of 
her  morning's  adventure  with  the  Countess  of  Bello- 
mont to  the  man  beside  her. 

Despite  the  shadow  of  restraint  that  had  fallen 
on  Evelyn's  manner,  the  two  chatted  pleasantly  a 
few  moments  longer.  As  for  Captain  Ferrers,  he 
would  willingly  have  prolonged  that  interview  in- 
definitely, for  here  under  these  trees  he  found  his 
companion  still  more  charming  than  in  the  conven- 
tional atmosphere  of  the  drawing-room.  But  Eve- 
lyn was  not  so  unmindful  that  time  was  passing  and 
that  she  must  be  returning  homewards.  When  she 
had  made  the  first  movement  in  that  direction, 
signing  to  the  young  negro  to  take  her  basket,  the 
same  old  squaw,  who  had  pointed  to  the  flying 
birds,  arose  from  the  ground  where  she  had  been 
squatting,  while  observing  the  pair.  She  began  to 
address  some  sentences  to  Evelyn,  pointing,  as  she 


It 


'  I  _ 

i:,-l:f  . 


90      GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

spoke,  from  her  to  Captain  Ferrers,  and  her  words 
produced  in  the  girl  an  effect  of  extreme  annoyance, 
not  unmingled  with  confusion.  She  shook  her  head 
in  vigorous  dissent,  frowning  to  show  her  displeasure, 
while  still  the  squaw  went  on: 

"This  is  a  great  war-'-hief  who  has  come  over  the 
water  with  the  Great  Captain,  the  Governor,  our 
Brother  and  Corlear.  He  seeks  the  White  Flower 
for  his  mate,  and  the  tribe  are  pleased.  For  he  has 
the  frame  of  .  warrior  and  the  eye  of  an  eagle; 
and  his  eye  is  good,  since  it  rests  upon  the  White 
Flower.  She  will  take  him  one  day  for  her  mate. 
It  is  well;  it  is  well." 

The  women  standing  about  and  the  braves,  who 
lurked  in  the  trees,  cried  out  their  agreement  with 
the  sentiment,  saying:  "It  is  well;  it  is  well."  Tlie 
yoimg  girls,  the  wampum  makers,  took  up  the  chorus, 
and  some  of  the  older  women,  crowding  about 
Ferrers,  patted  him  on  the  shoulder  or  pressed  his 
hand,  thus  saluting  him  as  the  fitting  mate  for  the 
White  Flower. 

"What  is  it  they  are  saying?"  inquired  the  officer, 
trying  to  reproduce  some  of  the  soft  Indian  words 
which  he  had  caught. 

Evelyn,  very  naturally,  did  not  proffer  her  ser- 
vices as  interpreter.  Perhaps  some  idea  of  their 
meaning  dawned  upon  Captain  Ferrers,  as  he  noted 
the  girl's  embarrassment.  For  he  did  not  insist, 
merely  saying: 

"They  include  me,  I  perceive,  in  their  friendship, 
which  most  certainly  I  owe  to  you,  and  I  or ^ne  it  is 
good  policy  to  conciliate  them." 

"Oh,  yes,  yes,"  cried  Evelyn,  grateful  for  the  turn 
he  had  given  the  matter,  "conciliate,  always  con- 
ciliate." 


THE  WHITE  FLOWER  AND  THE  EAGLE  91 

She  made  a  signal  to  her  negro  attendant,  and 
began  to  walk  away,  when  Captain  Ferrers  cried 
reproachfully : 

"You  will  not  leave  me  to  their  tender  mercies 
in  purchasing  the  fish." 

And  Evelyn,  mindful  of  the  obligations  of  courtesy, 
caused  the  Wildett  to  bring  forth  their  choicest  pis- 
catorial offerings — bluefish,  perch,  whitefish,  bass 
and  crabs,  wliich  last  would  be  a  novelty  for  the 
viceregal  table,  if  only,  as  Evel5m  explained,  there 
was  some  experienced  person  at  hand  to  reject  the 
poisonous  part  and  prepare  them.  Once  the  fish 
had  been  chosen,  however,  Evelyn  delayed  not  a 
moment  in  leaving  Captain  Ferrers  to  himself.  He 
smiled  at  the  haste  with  which  she  withdrew  from  his 
society,  for  its  probnble  cause  had  occurred  to  him. 
But  there  was  a  pleasant  warmth  in  his  heart  tow- 
ards these  Wilden,  who  had,  as  he  felt  sure,  given 
this  cherished  member  of  their  tribe  into  his  keeping. 

"In  faith,"  he  said  to  himself,  "I  would  the  matter 
were  so  simple  of  adjustment.  But  Mistress  Evelyn 
will  demand  a  skilful  wooer.  Luclsy  the  man  who 
can  win  her  favor." 

But  the  Wilden  said  amongst  themselves: 

"The  White  Flower  flies.  It  is  well.  But  the 
eagle  will  pursue." 


CHAPTER  XI 

FRIENDS  OR  ENEMIES? 

FROM  the  suggestion  of  Captain  Ferrers  that 
Her  Excellency  should  visit  the  Indian  en- 
campment, resulted  in  fact  Evelyn's  next  meeting 
with  my  Lady  Bellomont.  In  a  brief  note  Evelyn 
was  asked  to  be  in  attendance  on  a  certain  day  and 
at  a  certain  hour  to  lend  her  valuable  assistance  to 
the  Countess  of  Bellomont  in  interpreting  the  Ind- 
ian tongue.  The  request  was  very  cotirteously 
worded,  and  came  from  one  of  Her  Ladyship's 
ladies-in-waiting.  On  that  occasion  Evelyn  was 
accompanied  by  Polly  Van  Cortlandt,  who  was 
quite  elated  at  the  prospect  of  meeting  thus  at  close 
range  that  woman  who  so  far  had  awakened  far 
wider  interest,  espcnally  among  the  women  of  the 
colony,  than  the  Governor  himself. 

Great  was  Captain  Ferrers'  disappointment  to 
find  that  his  plan,  in  so  far  as  he  himself  was  con- 
cerned, was  a  failure.  For  my  Lord  Bellomont,  after 
his  arbitrary  fashion,  claimed  his  services,  and  it 
was  Captain  Williams  who  was  chosen  to  attend 
Her  Excellency.  This  latter  had  always  made 
himself  particularly  serviceable  to  the  capricious 
lady,  humoring  aJl  her  whims  and  falling  in  with 
all  her  prejudices.  She  accept  3d,  after  her  languid 
fashion,  his  almost  slavish  services,  and  was  quite 


FRIENDS  OR  ENEMIES? 


93 


content  to  have  him  in  her  train,  while  she  was  not 
without  a  certain  pique  that  Captain  Ferrers  should 
be  so  much  less  amenable  to  her  more  or  less  un- 
reasonable caprices. 

"Captain  Prosser  Williams,"  she  once  said  caus- 
tically to  one  of  her  ladies,  "was  bom  to  play  the 
r61e  of  tame  cat  in  a  lady's  boudoir.  But  what  shotUd 
we  do  without  him  in  these  wilds?" 

To  Evelyn,  also,  it  must  be  owned,  the  substi- 
tution of  Prosser  Williams  for  Captain  Ferrers  was 
a  considerable  disappointment.  Since  their  last 
meeting  she  had  thought  of  Captain  Ferrers  very 
often,  as  she  worked  in  her  garden  or,  with  her  ca- 
pable hands,  assisted  in  such  domestic  affairs  as  re- 
quired her  attention.  There  was  a  pleasurable  ex- 
citement in  the  thought  of  his  openly  displayed 
admiration,  which,  as  instinct  told  her,  hovered 
closely  upon  the  bcrderland  of  love,  though  she  had 
no  certainty  as  yet  that  he  had  passed  it.  To  her 
clear  commonsense  it  seemed  improbable  and  vi- 
sionary that  a  man,  fresh  from  the  great  world  and 
from  the  excitements  of  court  and  camp,  should  fall 
so  easy  a  victim  to  a  girl  who  was  chiefly  of  provincial 
training  and  had  but  a  limited  Imowledge  of  life. 
Nevertheless,  in  his  manner  and  voice,  so  simple, 
so  true  and  so  unartificial  as  she  felt  them  to  be, 
there  was  quite  enough  interest  revealed  to  afford 
a  real  pleasure  and  stimulus  to  their  meetings. 

Evelyii  and  her  friend  reached  the  encampment 
first,  as  in  duty  boimd,  and  as  the  quick  eye  of  ftos- 
ser  Williams  told  him.  He  felt  a  certain  excitement 
at  that  moment,  as  if  he  had  been  called  to  a  combat. 
It  braced  his  languid  nerves,  and  lent  an  unwonted 
animation  to  his  manner.  Evelyn  seemed  to  arouse 
such  latent  strength  as  lay  in  a  nature  enervated 


iritis 


94     GER-UD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

by  idleness  and  self-indulgence.  She  was  an  enemy 
whom  he  would  like  to  subdue — beautiful,  graceful 
and  alert,  as  had  been  the  tigers  which,  on  first 
coming  out  of  college,  he  had  gone  away  to  shoot. 
Her  cleverness  and  her  clever  perceptions  incited 
him  to  anger.  He  fancied  she  would  have  been  more 
attractive  and  more  pleasing  to  mankind  in  general 
without  them.  Beauty  was  the  only  thing  that 
mattered,  and  goodness — if  he  could  recognize  it 
at  all,  and  even  supposing  it  to  be  genuine — was 
but  a  negative  and  often  inconvenient  attribute 
which,  in  his  eyes,  could  add  nothing  whatever  to 
a  woman.  Nevertheless,  Evelyn's  beauty  captivated 
him  and  gave  her  a  distinct  advantage,  when  she 
looked  at  him  with  those  coldly  scornful  eyes  which 
belied  the  conventional  civility  of  her  words. 

As  he  presented  the  two  girls  to  my  Lady  Bello- 
mont,  he  was  surprised  to  note  that,  after  a  gracious 
greeting  to  Mistress  Polly,  she  took  Evelyn's  hand 
in  hers  while  she  whispered  something  that  he  could 
not  catch.  His  nimble  brains  set  to  work  at  once 
to  puzzle  out  what  possible  acquaintance  there 
could  have  been  befoi-e  between  the  two.  For  ac- 
quaintanceship, it  was  evident,  there  had  been. 
But,  puzzle  as  he  might,  he  could  not  here  receive 
enlightenment.  One  thing,  however,  was  clear, 
and  that  was  that  Evelyn  had  won  Her  Ladyship's 
favor.  He  had  known  her  before  to  show  a  marked 
partiality  for  beautiful  women,  when  they  interfered 
with  no  purpose  of  her  own.  In  this  case  it  was 
quite  apparent  that  she  wanted  the  girl  beside  her. 
She  regarded  her  with  evident  admiration,  and  she 
uttered  enthusiastic  little  exclamations  at  Evelyn's 
cleverness  in  speaking  the  Indian  dialects,  and  would 
scarcely  acknowledge  the  fact  that  Mistress  Polly 


,;iiili 


FRIENDS  OR  ENEMIES? 


9S 


spoke  them  almost  as  well.  Her  Ladyship  noted 
with  keen  interest  the  ascendancy  of  the  beauttful 
and  high-bred  girl  over  these  wild,  tmtutored  beings. 
Prosser  Williams,  walking  with  Polly,  who  laughingly 
acknowledged  herself  to  be  quite  in  a  secondary 
position  with  the  Wilden,  observed  it  also,  and  it 
lent  fuel  to  the  strange  flame  of  mingled  hatred  and 
perfervid  admiration  which  he  felt  towards  Evelyn, 
and  which  was  to  a  certain  extent  the  outcome  of 
her  very  contempt  and  dislike.  Had  she  responded  to 
his  advances,  she  would  have  been  merely  one  of  the 
many  pretty  girls  with  whom  he  had  passed  an  idle 
hour.  It  must  be  owned,  however,  that  the  attrac- 
tion which  she  seemed  to  possess  for  the  hitherto 
invincible  Ferrers  hac '.  lent  her  a  value  quite  apart 
from  her  intrinsic  merits;  and  of  course  the  appro- 
bation of  my  Lady  Bellomont  was  another  feather  in 
Evelyn's  cap.  There  was  no  jewel  to  which  covirt 
favor  would  not  have  added,  in  the  young  man's 
estimation,  an  additional  lustre. 

Evelyn,  meanwhile,  was  discoursing  quite  simply 
and  unaffectedly  with  the  Indians.  They  crowded 
about  her  affectionately,  and  at  her  bidding  showed 
all  their  wares  to  the  wife  of  the  "Great  Captain." 
Some  of  these  treasures  they  had  brought  from  the 
shores  of  the  Atlantic,  whence  the  sea  rolled  out- 
ward till  there  was  no  land  between  there  and  the 
coast  of  Ireland;  some  of  them  were  brought  from 
the  fastnesses  of  the  Jersey  heights  or  from  the  ssJt 
marshes  of  Long  Island.  They  included  bead-work, 
dyes,  berries,  fresh  and  fried  fish,  native  tobacco, 
willow  withes,  oak  knots,  cat's-tails  or  bulrushes, 
and  baskets  of  numberless  colors.  Not  for  years 
had  Captain  Williams  seen  Her  Ladyship  more 
charmed  or  interested.    Here  boredom  vanished  as 


96   GERALD  ob  LACEVS  DAUGHTER 

if  by  magic,  and  she  seemed  to  regard  Evelyn  as  the 
priestess  of  aU  these  mysteries  of  Nature  and  Na- 
ture s  chddren,  as  having  arranged  the  whole  varied 
show  for  her  entertainment. 

Meanwhile,  failing  Evelyn,  Prosser  Williams  had 
been  makmg  himself  agreeable  to  Polly,  who  he  an- 
grily declared  was  worth  half  a  dozen  of  such  frigid 
unapproachable  beings  as  that  pale  giri  beside  my 
Lady  Bellomont.  Yet  he  knew  in  his  heart  that  he 
would  have  given  all  that  other's  attractions,  and 
mdeed  the  combined  attractions  of  all  the  women 
whom  he  had  hitherto  known,  for  one  such  friendly 
fflmleas  he  had  seen  Evelyn  bestow  upon  Captain 
Ferrers.  Even  with  the  Indians,  he  saw  that  her 
frigidity  had  disappeared.  Her  face  alight  with 
mterest,  she  talked  to  them  brightly  and  naturally 
and  with  an  unaffected  friendliness. 

''I  perceive,"  he  said  to  Polly,  in  his  sneering 
voi(»,  "that  Mistress  de  Lacey  has  a  genius  for 
subduing  the  aborigines." 

"Yes,"  agreed  Polly,  who  was  bravely  struggling 
with  a  sense  of  pique  at  the  indifference  to  her  of 
my  Lady  Bellomont,  and  was  therefore  less  careful 
thaa.  usual  of  her  words.  "And  she  is  their  teacher 
and  something  of  a  missionary  as  well." 

"Missionary?"  echoed  the  young  man,  starting 
back  m  affected  astonishment.  "Has  the  young  lady 
perfections  in  that  direction  too?  And  I  pray  you 
what  kind  of  a  missionary?"  ' 

The  expression  on  the  inquirer's  face  caused  a 
vague  alarm  in  PoUy's  mind.  She  remembered  too 
late  that  the  subject  of  Evelyn's  religion  was  alto- 
gether taboo  in  their  circle.  It  was  practically 
ignored,  for,  since  the  stormy  days  of  Leisler  and 
receqt  enactinents  in  Maryland  and  elsewhere,  it 


FRIENDS  OR  ENEMIES?  97 

was  decidedly  dangerous  to  be  suspected  of  Popish 
leanings  and  unpleasant  to  have  any  sort  of  mti- 
macy  with  those  of  the  proscribed  faith.    In  fact, 
the  prejudice  that  had  been  more  or  1ms  passive  in 
Dutch  New  York,  save  in  the  days  -,{  Leisler.  had 
sprung  into  life  since  the  accession  o  the  Protestant 
champion,  William  of  Orange,  and  was  now  likely 
to  change  into  active  hostility.    Polly  would,  there- 
fore, have  been  only  too  willing  to  change  the  sub- 
ject,  but   the  curiosity  of  her  companion,   once 
aroused,  was  not  easily  set  at  rest ;  in  so  far  as  Evelyn 
was  concerned,  it  was  fairly  consuming. 
"So  this  all-perfect  lady,"  the  officer  remarked, 
is  then  of  a  religious  turn?" 
"Oh,  yes,  in  truth,"  said  Polly,  "she  is  of  a  re- 
hgious  turn."    And   she  added   apologetically,  as 
though  she  had  said  something  disparaging:    "But 
not  unduly  so." 

Prosser  Williams  laughed  at  the  qualification 
and  then  asked: 

"Is  it  your  Dutch  church  which  claims  her  al- 
legiance?" 

Polly  shook  her  head  and  laughed,  for  all  of  a 
sudden  it  seemed  to  her  supremely  ludicrous  that 
Evelyn  de  Lacey  should  "sit  under,"  as  the  phrase 
went,  good  Doniinie  Selyns. 

"It  is  Trinity  Church,  then,  that  she  attends?" 
persisted  Williams.  "And  yet,  if  my  memory  serves 
me  right,  on  the  numerous  occasions  when  officially 
I  have  been  obliged  to  go  to  church,  I  caught  no 
ghmpse  of  Mistress  Evelyn." 

"No,"  said  Poll/,  beginning  to  flounder  in  deep 
water.    "She  is  religious,  I  opine,  without  much  of 
church-going." 
And  she  knew  that  she  spoke  the  truth  since  there 


98      GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

was  no  church  for  Evelyn  to  attend.  As  for  the  oc- 
casional Masses  in  private  houses  which  Catholics 
surreptitiously  attended,  they  were  guarded  with 
the  utmost  secrecy  and  had  never  come  to  the  knowl- 

''^  of  Mistress  Polly. 
That  is  a  mode  of  worship,"  said  Captain  Will- 
iams, "which  I  do  infinitely  prefer  myself,  but  it  is 
not  one  which  usually  finds  favor  with  the  devout." 

Though,  to  Polly's  relief,  he  changed  the  subject, 
the  train  of  thought  thus  laid  in  his  mind  led  him 
to  entertain  some  half -formulated  suspicions. 

Before  my  Lady  Bellomont  took  her  leave  after 
exhaustive  purchases,  which  delighted  the  Wildm, 
and  the  distribution  of  sundiV  trifling  gifts,  she  gave 
a  hint  to  both  the  girls  of  the  series  of  entertainments 
which  she  was  planning  at  the  Fort.  These  were  de- 
signed to  bring  together  the  various  social  elements 
of  the  colony  that  bad  been  sadly  split  up  and 
divided  by  the  internecine  strife  whidi  had  been 
raging  ever  since  the  regime  of  the  usurping  Leisler, 
and  which  his  execution  had  caused  to  break  forth 
with  renewed  fury.  For  though  Lord  Bellomont  had 
chosen  to  range  himself  upon  the  Leislerian  side  of 
the  controversy,  he  had  been  unable  as  yet  to  effect 
anything  like  a  peaceful  understanding  between  the 
contendmg  psirties.  With  Evelyn,  Her  Ladyship 
had  had  but  little  opportunity  for  private  conversa- 
tion, but  she  said: 

"You  add  discretion  to  all  your  other  charms. 
For  I  have  not  heard  so  much  as  a  whisper  of  that 
little  adventure  of  mine." 

"I  have  not  mentioned  it,"  said  Evelyn  simply, 
and  Her  Ladyship  felt  that  in  that  simple  assertion 
there  was  truth.  But  Evelyn,  bethinking  herself, 
Added:  "Save  to  my  father.    I  tell  him  everything." 


I  m 

t  pit 


FRIENDS  OR  ENEMIES?  99 

"Then  he,  too,  is  discreet." 
..  "?1  ^.  ^'^^y  be  trusted,"  rephed  Evelyn, 

and  he  himself  advised  me  to  juake  no  mention 
of  what  was  a  trifling  incident,  which  would  merely 
excite  the  idle  curiosity  of  the  gossips." 
••Ke  spoke  the  truth,"  said  Lady  Bellomont, 

for  you  cannot  know  how  trifles  have  been  some- 
times magnified  to  my  grievous  hann.  And  I  will 
tell  you  that  it  is  not  permitted  me  to  go  forth  un- 
attended, nor  to  do  those  things  for  which  the  mean- 
est woman  in  the  town  has  liberty." 

Prom  that  time  forth  Evelyn's  sympathies  were 
^ways  keenly  aroused  in  favor  of  the  Countess 
Bellomont,  who  she  could  perceive  had  so  much  to 
contend  against  in  her  domestic  circumstances.  She 
was  disposed  to  regard  my  Lord  in  the  light  of  a 
tyrant,  and  did  not  give  sufficient  consideration  to 
the  fact  that  perhaps  the  stem  and  arbitrary  mea- 
sures restricting  his  wife's  freedom  were  the  result 
of  the  lady's  folly. 

The  two  girls  were  very  much  elated  by  ine 
promises  the  Countess  had  made  «,f  successive 
^eties  at  the  Fort  and  the  gubernatorial  residence. 
They  took  their  homeward  way  by  Queen  Street, 
in  which  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  lived,  and  where 
they  were  sure  to  meet  a  goodly  sprinkling  of  the 
fashionable  world  and  many  of  their  acquaintances, 
to  whom  they  might  imijart  Her  Excellency's  good 
tidings  and  at  the  same  time  make  known  the  honor 
that  they  had  enjoyed  in  being  admitted  so  familiarly 
to  Her  Ladyship's  company.  The  two  fell  into  dis- 
pute as  they  walked  on  the  subject  of  Captain 
Prossjr  Williams.  Evelyn  declared  him  to  be  "an 
odious  man,"  whose  outward  civility  concealed  an 
insolently  supercilious  attitude  towards  Colonials. 


loo  GERALD    de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 


I 


Polly  defended  him  with  some  heat,  declaring  that 
she  had  found  his  manner  agreeable  and  his  speech 
full  of  witty  sayings  and  pretty  compliments. 

"And  I  speak  without  prejudice,"  said  Polly 
frankly,  "for  all  his  interest,  Evelyn,  is  in  you, 
though  he  strives  to  mask  the  same  by  petty  sneers 
and  irmuendoes.  You  would  have  but  to  raise  your 
finger  to  have  him  at  your  feet." 

"Where  he  might  stay,  in  so  far  as  I  am  con- 
cerned," said  Evelyn.  "Even  if  you  were  right, 
which  is  absurd,  since  I  have  scarce  exchanged  a 
dozen  words  with  him,  and  he  has  been  meanwhile 
in  better  company,  his  is  an  admiration  which  I 
freely  declare  I  do  not  want." 

"Your  favors  are  all  for  the  other,"  said  Polly, 
with  a  touch  of  malice. 

"Polly,"  cried  Eveljm,  and  this  time  there  was 
a  hint  of  real  annoyance  in  her  manner,  "you  are  in 
a  provoking  mood  to-day." 

"The  truth  is  not  always  palatable,  my  Evelyn," 
said  Polly,  laughing.  "But  if  you  have  cast  your 
arrows  at  Captain  Ferrers,  where  is  the  harm,  and 
which  of  us  would  not  do  the  same?  Especially,  my 
dear,  since  they  have  found  sure  lodgment." 

"Your  imagination  runs  away  with  you,  my  pretty 
Polly,"  laughed  Evelyn. 

It  must  be  owned,  however,  that  this  assertion 
of  her  observant  friend  was  gratifying  in  the  ex- 
treme. It  was  something  to  have  even  been  sup- 
posed to  have  made  such  a  conquest,  in  however 
limited  a  sense  that  term  might  be  understood. 
For  she  could  not  conceal  from  herself  that  the  young 
officer  under  discussion  occupied  already  a  consid- 
erable share  of  her  thoughts  and  imagination.  This 
latter  had  been  excited  to  a  still  greater  degree  by 


FRIENDS  OR  ENEMIES?  loi 

an  account  given  her  by  a  young  subaltern,  with 
whom  she  had  lately  danced,  of  Captain  Ferrers' 
prowess  and  gaUantry.  He  described  in  detail  how 
m  the  late  war,  Ferrers  had  led  a  charge,  bare- 
headed, his  face  pale  and  his  eyes  gloviii"  cheering 
and  encouraging  his  men  until  he  had  fallen  with  a 
wound  which  was  beHeved,  at  first,  to  be  mortal 
Evelyn  s  mformant,  full  of  boyish  enthusiasm,  had 
added  other  details  as  to  his  superior  officer's  gen- 
eral character,  his  popularity  with  the  men  and  his 
upnght  and  honorable  demeanor,  all  of  which  had 
fitted  in  with  her  own  impressions. 

"I  marvel  oftentimes,"  rattled  on  Polly,  "that 
your  conceit  does  not  become  inordinate  with  all 
your  conquests.  But,  no,  you  take  them  calmly, 
and  seem  to  find  it  of  no  moment  that  you  have 
laid  by  the  heels  these  two  sprigs  of  nobility  and 
Governor's  men." 

_  "Who  but  PoUy  could  prattle  on  with  such  absurdi- 
*'^..  A  ,5^^  Evelyn,  laughing  again  and  more  heartily. 
All  the  while  knowing  that  it  is  sober  truth  " 
returned  Polly.  "And  a  true  prophet  I  was,  for 
said  I  not  that  you  were  like  to  set  the  new-comers 
distracted?  Were  it  any  other  but  yourself,  I  should 
be  the  color  of  the  leaves  with  envy  and  well  dis- 
posed to  hate  you." 

"You  can  afford  to  be  generous,  with  half  the 
town  at  your  feet,"  retorted  Evelyn.  "And  as  for 
hatmg  me— oh,  never,  never  do  that,  Polly,  what- 
ever may  betide."  Her  eyes  filled  with  tears  as  she 
added:  For  victories  won  at  that  price  would  be 
dearly  purchased." 

An  affectionate  squeeze  of  her  arm  and  an  affection- 
ate word  or  two  exchanged  between  them  cemented 
their  pact  of  friendship  more  strongly  than  ever 


CHAPTER  XII 


DANGEROUS  DAYS 


!  t 


THE  government  of  my  Lord  Bellomont  was 
marked  in  the  first  place  by  a  return  to  the 
courtly  elegance,  pomp  and  state  that  had  fallen  into 
desuetude  at  the  mansion  in  the  Fort  since  the  days 
of  Sir  Edmund  Andros.  Once  more  the  state  car- 
riages went  forth  into  the  town  with  postilions  and 
outriders;  pomp  and  ceremony  were  the  order  of  the 
day;  the  rich  costumes  of  my  Lady  Bellomont,  worn 
with  grace  and  distinction,  were  the  cjmosure  of  all 
feminine  eyes.  Entertainments,  mostly  formal  in 
character,  were  given  frequently,  though  there  were 
not  wanting  the  gay  dmices  which  had  been  an- 
nounced to  Evelyn  and  her  friend  by  Her  Excellency. 
These  were  chiefly  of  her  contrivance,  assisted  by 
the  ever-pUable  Prosser  Williams,  the  other  men  of 
the  Household  and  the  naval  and  military  officers. 
Enlivened  by  the  strains  of  an  orchestra  of  negro 
minstrels,  who  played  on  the  battlement  of  the 
Fort,  these  assemblies  brought  together  all  the  young 
people  of  the  Dutch  metropoUs,  and  were  keenly 
enjoyed  by  the  hostess  herself.  For  i'  was  her  only 
opportunity  to  escape  the  jealous  '/igilance  of  my 
Lord  Bellomont  and  to  mingle  freely  with  the  youth 
of  both  sexes,  whose  society  she  found  an  agreeable 


DANGEROUS  DAYS 


103 


change  from  the  elderly  magnates  whom  the  Gov- 
ernor entertained  at  dinner. 

But,  even  during  the  course  of  these  festivities, 
the  sharp-eyed  husband  never  entirely  relaxed  his 
scrutiny  of  his  wife's  movements.  He  was  quick 
to  observe  any  special  marks  of  friendliness  on  her 
part  towards  any  of  the  Colonials.  And  his  jealousy 
extended  not  only  to  those  of  the  male  sex,  but  even 
to  women.  Thus  he  noticed,  at  one  of  the  first 
dances,  the  favor  which  Her  Ladyship  extended  to 
Evelyn  de  Lacey,  who  was  looking  her  very  best, 
and  \.  IS  also  guilty  of  monopolizing,  in  so  far  as 
his  duties  permitted  him  that  busy  evening,  my 
Lord's  favorite  aide-de-camp.  Hence  it  was  that 
after  a  few  curt  words  of  greeting,  altogether  at 
variance  with  the  courteous  manner  which  he  usu- 
ally displayed  at  social  gatherings,  he  turned  his 
back  upon  Evelyn,  with  frowning  brows  and  pursed- 
up  Hps.  This  circumstance  was  seen  by  Prosser 
Williams  with  keen  pleasure,  and  mentally  noted 
for  future  use.  Also,  when  next  he  addressed  Evelyn, 
he  lent  to  his  manner  a  certain  undercurrent  of  in- 
solence, which  not  only  the  girl  herself,  but  J'gbert 
Ferrers,  saw  and  resented. 

However,  there  were  graver  matters  claiming  the 
pubUc  attention  just  then,  and  the  attitude  of  the 
Governor  gave  cause  for  anxiety  to  more  than  one 
class  of  the  citizens.  Thus  at  the  suggestion  of  a 
certain  clique,  who  had  managed  to  secure  his  ear, 
and  who  described  themselves  as  "the  people's 
party"  and  the  champions  of  Protestantism,  the 
Governor  was  induced  to  condemn  the  action  of 
one  of  his  predecessors.  Colonel  Sloughter,  by  whom 
Jacob  Leisler  and  his  son-in-law,  Milbome,  were  put 
to  death.   He  exerted  all  his  influence  with  the  King, 


m 


m 


104    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

who  had  reversed  the  attainder  pronounced  on  him 
by  the  deposed  sovereign,  King  Jaraes,  and  had  made 
him  Earl  of  Bellomont,  to  procure  an  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment removing  the  attainder  from  Leisler  and  Mil- 
bome. 

This  action,  which  was  highly  i.uipopular  with  a 
large  and  very  prominent  section  of  the  community, 
and  another  succeeding  action  of  Bellomont's  were 
discussed  with  much  warmth  at  one  of  Madam  Van 
Cortlandt's  assemblies,   at  which  were  present  a 
particularly  large  gathering  of  the  aristocratic,  or 
"long  coats,"  party.    The  allusion  in  this  title  was 
to  the  short  coats  worn  by  the  tradesmen  and  labor- 
ing classes.    Leisler  was  the  self-constituted  cham- 
pion of  the  people,  but  hi3  whole  regime  appears 
to  have  been  a  series  of  lawless,  tyrannical  and  ar- 
bitrary acts  against  everyone  who  opposed  him. 
Amongst  the  representatives  of  the  leading  Dutch 
families  assembled,  with  a  fair  intermixture  of  Eng- 
lish or  Huguenot  colonists  who  sided  with  them, 
there   was   great   indignation,    and,   as   they   met 
around  Madam  Van  Cortlandt's  card  tables,  they 
talked  of  little  else  but  this  or  that  move  on  the  part 
of  the  Governor,  who  had  apparently  declared  war 
upon  their  faction.    As  they  sipped  the  spiced  wine 
and  ate  of  the  oly  keochs,  or  doughnuts  and  pound 
cakes,  with  which  they  were  regaled,  they  denounced 
in  more  or  less  courteous  tones  the  policy  of  the  gov- 
ernment, and  resolved  as  far  as  possible  to  oppose  it. 
It  was  Mynheer  de  Vries  who  had  brought  the  latest 
piece  of  intelligence,  and,  as  it  was  passed  around 
amongst  the  various  groups,  the  faces  of  those  who 
heard  it  were  a  study  in  themselves. 

"At  midnight,"  he  announced,  "on  the  fourteenth 
day  of  this  month,  the  body  of  Leisler  and  his  son- 


IP.  S»i.^ 


DANGEROUS  DAYS 


los 


in-law,  Jacob  Milbome,  are  to  be  exhumed  and 
buried  again  with  honor  under  the  Dutch  church." 

There  was  a  horrified  pause  among  those  who 
heard  the  announcement,  for  this  was  an  open  de- 
fiance of  that  powerful  coalition  which  had  procured 
— ^and,  as  it  seemed,  for  just  and  reasonable  causes 
— their  execution  as  "lawless  usurpers"  and  for  a 
series  of  tyrannical  acts  against  the  person  and 
property  of  their  opponents.  Amongst  others, 
Evelyn  de  Lacey  was  dismayed  by  the  intelligence, 
for  she  had  learned  from  her  father  of  Leisler's  un- 
relenting hostility  to  the  CathoKc  Church  and  its 
adherents,  and  how  he  had  conspired  with  the  in- 
famous Coode  of  Maryland  and  others  to  destroy 
that  religious  toleration  which  Maryland  had  at 
first  openly  proclaimed,  and  which  New  York  under 
its  Catholic  Governor,  Dongan,  had  obtained  from 
a  Catholic  King.  If  my  Lord  Bellomont  had  given 
his  official  sanction  to  the  glorification  of  such  men, 
it  was  but  too  easy  to  guess  what  her  co-religionists 
had  to  expect.  As  in  a  dream,  she  followed  the 
further  course  of  the  conversation,  in  which  the 
cool,  even  tones  of  Mynheer  de  Vries  seemed  to 
dominate. 

^^  "Regarding  the  good  Vrow  Leisler,"  he  said, 
"hex  affection  for  that  tjrrant  must  have  grown 
since  his  death.  For  was  it  not  common  knowledge 
that  he  treated  her  most  harshly?  And  as  for  poor 
Mary  Leisler,"  he  paused,  with  an  expressive  smile 
and  movement  of  the  head,  "do  we  not  know  that 
she  was  coerced,  pretty  and  amiable  girl  as  she  was, 
into  a  marriage  with  a  vulgar  boor  and  tool  of  her 
father,  Jacob  Milbome?" 

"Yes,  yes,"  agreed  several  voices,  "and  he  was 
old  enough  to  have  been  he?  father." 


i 


i 


io6    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER    •   - 

Madam  Van  Cortlandt,  in  her  calm  judicial  man- 
ner, took  up  the  subject:   ,      ,    ,      .    .,,.   ^  ^. 

"It  must  be  owned,"  she  declared,  that  there 
seemed  to  have  been  but  little  love  lost  between 
those  women  and  their  respective  husbands  during 
life,  and  poor  Mary  had  but  a  short  married  'ie. 
But  they  cannot  be  held  blameworthy  in  strivmg 
to  have  the  attainder  removed  from  a  father's  and 
a  husband's  name." 

Justice  and  commonsense  were  so  obviously  on 
the  side  of  this  impartial  view  that  no  one  present 
was  bold  enough  to  oflfer  a  protest.   Evelyn  de  Lacey, 
sick  at  heart,  could  not  help  thinking  that  these  were 
mere  banalities  in  presence  of  those  graver  issues 
that  might  arise  for  the  people  of  her  faith.    The 
triumph  of  the   Leislerians  meant   relentless  war 
upon  them,  though  utterly  without  reason,  since 
there  was  neither  church  nor  resident  pnest  in  New 
York,  and  the  Catholics  were  besides  mostly  poor 
and  obscure  and  so  entirely  devoid  of  influence  of 
any  kind  that  they  could  not  be  considered  dan- 
gerous   even    by  those   most    bitterly   prejudiced 
against  them.    Yet  she  could  not  sympathize  with 
Polly's  outspoken  and  indignant  denunciation  of  all 
concerned,  for  she  was  aware  at  least  of  its  futility. 
Of  far  more  importance  was  the  look  of  detenmna- 
tion  she  could  detect  uoon  the  faces  of  such  men  as 
Killian    Van    Rensselaer,    Nicholas    Bayard    and 
Stephanus  Van  Ccrtlandt.    The  two  latter  had  suf- 
fered in  their  person  and  property  at  the  hands  of 
the  Leislerians;   indeed  the  last  had  had  to  endure 
the  wanton  destruction  of  his  furniture  and  va,lu- 
ables  and  to  witness  insults  oflertid  to  his  ^e, 
while  he  himself  was  thrown  into  prison.    He  had 
been  denounced  in  scurrilous  language  as  a  '  devil 


DANGEROUS  DAYS 


107 


of  a  Papist,"  and  subjected  to  virulent  abuse.  These 
were  not  men  to  submit  tamely  to  such  acts  of  ag- 
gression, as  they  had  already  shown  in  the  simimary 
justice  which  had  been  meted  out  to  the  aggressors 
through  the  instrumentality  of  their  powerful  fac- 
tion. Nor  would  they,  without  a  vigorous  protest, 
permit  this  new  Governor  to  cast  an  aspersion  on 
the  lawfulness  of  that  execution.  Nevertheless, 
amongst  them  all  was  visible  a  note  of  anxiety,  for 
the  gauntlet  had  been  thrown  down,  and  there  was 
danger  for  all  who  would  pick  it  up  against  a  ruler 
who  had  such  influence  with  the  King.  Evelyn, 
reflecting  upon  it  all  and  noting  their  anxiety,  was 
aware  that  her  own  and  that  of  her  father  must  be 
keenest  of  all.  For  though  these  respective  factions, 
which  had  been  changing  once  peaceable  New  York 
into  a  battle-ground,  might  war  fiercely  for  rights 
that  each  one  held  most  sacred,  there  were  none 
powerful  enough,  or  perhaps  broad-minded  enough, 
to  espouse  the  Catholic  cause  or  to  provide,  as  those 
same  Catholics  of  Maryland  had  done  in  the  days 
of  their  predominance,  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed 
of  every  faith.  Evelyn  was  eager  to  get  home  and 
discuss  this  new  phase  of  affairs  with  her  father, 
who  was  so  fully  informed  in  all  the  details  of  that 
contest  from  its  very  beginning.  She  remembered 
how  often  he  had  said,  speaking  with  full  knowledge 
and  deliberation : 

"If  all  these  colonies  had  been  settled,  as  was 
Maryland,  by  the  Catholics,  there  would  never  have 
been  persecution  on  this  side  of  the  broad  ocean." 
But  he  had  added  sadly:  "No  sooner  did  the  Prot- 
estants grow  powerful  enough  in  Maryland  than 
they  began  to  legislate  against  freedom  of  worship 
for  others  and  especially  those  of  that  faith  which 


bi  I 


io8    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

had  given  them  liberty  to  grow  and  flourish.  And 
that  despite  the  protests  of  the  Quakers,  who  were 
themselves  bitterly  persecuted,  and  others  of  liberal 
minds." 

So  strong  was  the  feeling  in  that  assemblage  that 
cards  and  all  other  amusements  were  very  soon 
eschewed,  and  for  once  Madam  Van  Cortlandt's 
excellent  viands  suffered  considerable  neglect.  It 
was  decided  amongst  the  elders  that  they  them- 
selves, and  as  many  as  they  could  influence,  should 
refrain  from  all  participation  in  the  function  of  the 
following  Wednesday  night,  leavmg  it  altogether  to 
that  faction  which,  with  some  notable  exceptions, 
were  the  more  obscure  and  less  important  members 
of  the  commonwealth.  The  younger  people,  how- 
ever, were  resolved  if  possible,  without  of  course 
participating  in  the  demonstration,  to  see  what  was 
likely  to  be  a  strange,  weird  sight.  Pieter  Schuyler 
organized  a  party  to  consist  of  his  cousin  I  .ily, 
Evelyn  de  Lacey,  a  married  sister  of  his  own,  Vrow 
Van  Brugh,  with  her  husband  and  one  or  two  others. 
The  young  men  made  every  arrangement  to  enable 
the  ladies  to  see  the  spectacle  without  being  them- 
selves observed,  and  to  provide  for  their  safety  in 
the  event  of  any  disturbance. 

When  Evelyn  went  home  and  mentioned  the  mat- 
ter to  her  father,  he  looked  grave  at  first.  But  when 
he  heard  of  whom  the  party  was  to  consist,  and  that 
it  was  to  be  headed  by  Pieter  Schuyler,  of  whom  he 
had  a  high  opinion,  he  made  no  objection.  For  he, 
who  had  been  in  his  youth  of  a  disposition  to  see 
all  and  adventure  all,  felt  that  he  could  not  refuse 
to  allow  his  daughter  whatever  privileges  were  con- 
sistent with  her  age  and  sex. 

"The  ashes  of  Jacob  Leisler,"  he  said  thought- 


DANGEROUS  DAYS 


109 


fully,  "thus  resurrected,  may  prove  an  evil  influence, 
and  sow  again  the  seeds  of  discord  which  grew  and 
flourished  during  his  stormy  career." 

"You  have  a  vivid  recollection  of  this  Leisler?" 
Evelyn  inquired. 

"Most  certainly  I  have,"  answered  her  father, 
who,  though  he  had  often  alluded  to  the  subject, 
had  never  told  Evelyn  precisely  what  had  been  his 
own  relations  with  that  stormy  petrel  of  Colonial 
New  York.  "Good  cause  have  I  to  remember  him, 
since  I  was  of  those  against  whom  he  directed  his 
machinations.  He  was  no  common  disturber  of  the 
peace,  though  his  words  and  acts  were  outrageous. 
Yet  I  know  there  be  reputable  men  in  this  town  who 
applaud  his  deeds  and  believe  him  to  have  been  a 
true  patriot  and  a  champion  of  the  people's  rights." 

He  leaned  back  in  his  chair  with  an  abstracted 
gaze,  as  though  he  were  thinking  aloud,  and  Evelyn, 
her  chin  upon  her  hand  and  her  eyes  upon  his  face, 
listened  intently. 

' '  His  enemies  claim  that  it  was  all  for  self -advance- 
ment that  he  forced  himself  to  the  top,  where  he 
had  no  rightful  place,  and  committed  while  there  the 
most  arbitrary  acts.  Also,  as  I  had  good  reason  to 
know,  he  persecuted  all  who  differed  from  him,  and 
especially  those  of  the  Catholic  Faith." 

After  a  pause,  he  added  in  his  trathftil  and  candid 
fashion: 

"The  trut?'  about  that  unhappy  nan  may  lie 
somewhere  between  the  two  extremes.  Such  is  the 
opinion  of  Father  Harvey,  who  was  for  years  my 
friend  and  adviser.  Leisler  may  have  had  some 
glimmerings  of  a  high  ideal  a?  to  liberty  and  the 
rest,  but  he  blundered  stupidly  and  criminally  in 
many  acts  of  his  administration  and  in  the  treatment 


no    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

of  all  who  were  opposed  to  him.  I  much  fear,  in- 
deed, that  his  popularity  arose  in  no  slight  degree 
from  his  loud-mouthed  denunciation  of  Popery  and 
his  championship  of  Protestantism." 

"He  persecuted  those  of  our  faith  shamefully, 
as  men  say,"  cried  Evelyn,  her  cheek  flushing 
with  indignation,  "and  for  that  alone  he  deserved 
death." 

"Ah,  my  Evelyn,"  -aid  her  father,  "that  is  the 
svunmary  mode  with  which  youth  ever  disposes  of 
an  adversary.  And  if  persecution  of  us  Catholics 
here  in  this  free  America,  or  over  yonder  in  Eng- 
land, were  worthy  of  death,  there  would  have  to 
be  a  wholesale  slaughter.  This  doughty  Teuton  has 
had  for  companions  in  guilt  quite  a  high-placed 
company,  and  even  his  executioner.  Governor 
Sloughter,  was  instructed  to  give  no  freedom  to 
Catholics." 

"So  Leisler  was  not  Dutch?"  said  Evelyn. 

"No,  he  was  German  bom,  and  Milborne,  I  be- 
lieve, was  English.    They  were  no  native  products." 

"I  am  glad  of  that,"  cried  Evelyn,  who  had  a 
sincere  liking  for  the  Dutch,  amongst  whom  she  had 
grown  up. 

"Will  you  not  come  with  us,  father,"  asked  Eve- 
lyn, "to  see  this  singular  sight?" 

Her  father  shook  his  head  with  something  Uke  a 
shiver. 

"To  me  it  would  be  but  grewsome,"  he  said, 
"since  I  remember  all  too  vividly  that  dismal  rainy 
day  when  Leisler  and  his  son-in-law  were  left  swing- 
ing upon  that  gibbet.  I  went  far  out  of  my  way  to 
avoid  the  spc^+acle,  enemies  though  they  were." 

On  that  memorable  Wednesday  evening,  for  the 
better  view  of  the  dismal  cortege,  which  yet  par- 


DANGEROUS  DAYS  in 

took  of  the  nature  of  a  triumphal  procession,  the 
group  of  young  people  had  obtained  permission  to 
take  their  stand  on  the  stoepe  of  ono  Christian 
Barentsen,  on  the  West  side  of  the  Broad  Way, 
where  late  had  stood  the  Dutch  Company's  garden. 
From  there  they  saw  that  strange,  weird  sight, 
which  somehow  froze  the  marrow  in  Evelyn's  bones, 
so  sensitive  to  excemal  expressions  was  her  mood  that 
night.  The  streets  of  Manhattan  were  strangely 
still  as  they  waited.  At  every  seventh  house,  lan- 
terns upon  a  pole  relieved  the  darkness  and  threw 
strange  shadows.  The  trees  waved  mournfully  in 
the  wind,  and  the  waters  of  the  Bay,  of  which 
glimpses  could  be  caught  by  the  watchers,  lay  cold 
and  black  under  the  dim  and  uncertain  starlight, 
save  where  they  reflected  the  lights  of  the  warship 
and  other  vessels  at  anchor  near  the  Fort.  The 
stentorian  tones  of  the  Watch  broke  the  ominous 
stillness. 

"Twelve  of  the  clock,  midnight,"  they  cried. 
"All's  well.  Weather  fair  but  cloudy.  Funeral  of 
the  late  Herr  Jacob  Leisler  and  his  son-in-law, 
Jacob  Milbome." 

Presently  these  voices  of  the  night  appeared  in 
visible  form — four  sturdy  men,  with  dark-blue  coats 
faced  with  orange,  rattling  their  long  staffs  as  they 
walked.  Pausing,  they  peered  into  the  faces  of  that 
group  which  they  saw  waiting  silently  on  the  stoepe 
of  Christian  Barentsen's  house.  Pieter  Schuyler 
exchanged  a  word  with  them,  whereupon  they  moved 
off,  after  a  ponderous  salute  to  the  ladies.  Other 
groups  had  begun  to  form,  and  soon  there  were  heard 
the  feet  of  marching  men  and  the  sound  of  music, 
played  by  the  band— not  loud  and  aggressive,  as 
was  Leisler  in  his  lifetime,  but  subdued  and  mourn- 


m    GERALD  de  LACEVS  DAUGHTER 

ful.  Surrounding  and  following  the  pin-carriage, 
upon  which  reposed  all  that  was  mortal  of  the  usurp- 
er and  his  associate,  marched  at  least  twelve  hun- 
dred men.  There  was  something  grimly  determined 
in  their  aspect,  something  ominous,  as  it  appeared 
to  Evelyn.  The  train-bands,  of  which  Leisler  had 
been  a  Captain,  turned  out  in  force,  as  did  maaiy 
mechanics  and  such  leading  citizens  as  were  their 
supporters,  whilst  my  Lord  Bellomont,  it  was  said, 
gave  his  countenance  to  the  proceedings  from  a 
window.  Torches  lighted  the  procession,  and  cast 
unearthly  shadows  on  the  faces  of  the  men  who 
walked,  lending  a  ghastliness  to  their  aspect,  as  if 
they  were  disembodied  spirits  who  moved  silently 
through  the  darkness  to  those  strange  obsequies. 

Evelyn  felt  her  eyes  fill  with  tears,  though  she 
could  not  have  told  why,  as  she  recalled  how  the 
restless,  indomitable  spirit^  of  one  at  least  of  those 
thus  honored  had  pervaded  that  town,  and  had 
gone  even  beyond  the  limits  of  the  colony  in  the 
working  out  of  his  plans. 

"Still  enough  now,  in  all  truth,"  said  Evelyn  to 
herself,  and  there  was  no  shadow  of  resentment, 
but  only  a  great  pity  in  her  heart  as  she  breathed 
a  prayer  that  the  all-merciful  Lord  might  accord 
pardon  and  compassion  to  those  ml.3^ided  souls, 
whose  in£uence  for  evil  had  not  ended  with  life, 
but  was  being  evoked  now  to  give  new  vitality  to 
that  spirit  of  discord  which  had  marked  the  coming 
of  Lord  Bellomont  and  was  to  outlast  his  life. 

Meanwhile,  in  awed  whispers,  scarcely  above  their 
breath,  Evelyn's  companions  were  caUing  one  an- 
other's attention  to  this  or  that  prominent  citizen 
who,  deserting  his  own  order,  was  thus  openly 
identifying  himself  with  the  Leislerian  party. 


DANGEROUS  DAYS 


113 


"Abraham  de  Peyster,"  cried  Polly,  "Rip  Van 
Dam,  Cornelius  Schoonhoven,  Gerard  Beekman." 

"Abraham  Gouvemeur,  Peter  Delancey,  Strohen 
Delancey,"  said  the  married  cousin,  "and  look! 
look!  Polly,  Evelyn,  there  is  the  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor, Mr.  Nanfan,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Weaver." 

"I  marvel  that  my  Lord  Bellomont  is  not  there 
in  person,"  said  Polly  scornfully. 

"Well,  there  is  one  of  his  aides-de-camp,"  added 
Pieter  Schuyler,  "Captain  Prosser  Williams." 

"Where?    Where?"  asked  Polly  eagerly. 

"Over  there,  near  Chariie  Lodovick,  the  Captain 
of  the  train-band,"  directed  Pieter. 

And  so  the  cortege  moved  on  like  some  shadowy 
phantom  train,  past  the  crowds  that  silently  lined 
the  way.  There  was  no  attempt  at  a  hostile  demon- 
stration, nor  at  any  demonstration  at  all;  no  indi- 
cation as  to  how  the  mind  of  the  people  leaned.  The 
bell  of  the  Dutch  Church  tolled  as  the  procession 
passed  within  the  precincts  ot  the  Fort,  where  the 
Dominie  stood  ready,  in  gown  and  bands,  to  per- 
form the  ceremony — with  no  gr?at  willingness  on 
his  part,  since  his  sympathies  as  well  as  his  connec- 
tions were  all  with  the  other  side.  Still  it  was  a 
duty  that  must  be  done,  and  there  was  no  other  of 
the  cloth  to  replace  him.  He  was,  therefore,  com- 
pelled to  receive,  as  it  were,  back  into  the  Fold  those 
whom,  as  tradition  asserts,  all  the  Dominies  had 
definitely  opposed  while  living.  Pieter  Schuyler  was 
full  of  solicitude  when  he  perceived  that  Evelyn, 
usually  so  strong-nerved  and  composed,  was  pale 
and  trembling.  He  blamed  himself  in  no  measured 
terms  for  having  suggested  such  an  expedition,  but 
Evelyn,  rallying,  laughed  away  his  solicitude,  and 
Polly  vindictively  added ; 


114    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

"For  why,  indeed,  should  you  be  overcome,  my 
dearest  Evelyn,  by  the  burial  of  the  odious,  hatefid 
man?" 

Eveljm  laid  her  fingers  on  her  friend's  lips: 

"For  to-night,"  she  said,  "let  us  speak  no  evil  of 
the  dead.  For  it  is  a  grievous  thing  to  think  that 
the  strongest  a:id  most  turbulent  must  come  to  this 
impotence." 

"Well,  the  fellow  has  had,"  laughed  Pieter's 
brother-in-law,  Jan  Van  Brugh,  "what  few  others 
can  boast  of,  and  that  is  a  second  funeral." 

"And  it  still  remains  to  be  seen,"  said  Pieter 
Schuyler,  with  unusual  heat,  "whether  the  home 
government  can  send  out  men  to  trample  on  the 
opinions  of  the  majority." 

The  honest  feUow  delivered  himself  thus,  with  the 
more  heat,  since  he  felt  it  a  grievance  that  members 
of  the  Household  had  set  themselves  of  late,  as  it 
seemed,  to  monopolize — not  only  his  cousin  and  dear 
comrade,  Polly,  but  what  was  far  worse  from  a 
sentimental  point  of  view — that  other  whom  the 
young  man  had  so  long  and  hopelessly  worshipped. 
But  the  bell  had  ceased  to  toll,  the  last  sound  of  the 
funeral  music  had  died  away,  and  the  party  retraced 
their  steps,  sobered  despite  themselves  by  what  they 
nad  witnessed.  They  went  first  to  leave  Evelyn 
at  home,  where  she  found  her  father  waiting. 

"So,"  he  said,  as  he  listened  to  her  account  of 
all  that  had  transpired,  "Lord  Bellomont  has  chosen 
to  throw  down  the  gauntlet  to  one  faction,  and  has 
extended  the  hand  of  friendship  to  the  other.  How 
will  it  work,  I  wonder,  for  the  peace  of  these  col- 
onies?" 


CHAPTER  XIII 

FEARS  RBAL  AND  IMAGINARY 

THAT  war  of  factions,  which  was  daily  reaching 
a  more  acute  stage,  threatened  to  put  brother 
against  brother  and  to  make  bitter  enemies  of  those 
who  had  been  previously  lifelong  friends.  One  day 
it  was  the  suspension  of  a  prominent  member  of 
the  Council  that  agitated  the  aristocratic  party, 
running  like  a  shiver  from  one  end  to  the  other, 
or  the  still  graver  intelligence  that  such  magnates 
as  Nicholas  Bayard  or  Stephen  Van  Cortlandt  had 
been  arrested  and  would  have  to  stand  their  trial 
for  offences  connected  with  the  Leisler  affair. 

And,  as  if  the  atmosphere  were  not  sufficiently 
tempestuous,  a  rumor  of  another  and  still  more 
serious  nature  began  to  spread  everywhere  like  an 
ominous  whisper.  It  crept  through  the  streets  of 
the  nascent  metropolis,  through  the  tranquil  gar- 
dens of  the  Smifs  and  the  Wolfert's  Valleys,  through 
the  stately  mansions  of  Queen  and  Pearl  Streets, 
and  down  the  streets  that  skirted  the  Bowling  Green, 
through  the  lanes  and  byways  inhabited  chiefly  by 
negroes,  and  up  through  the  houweries  and  country 
houses  of  Greenwich  and  Chelsea  villages,  out  by 
the  Boston  Post  Road  and  Bloomingdale,  to  where 
the  estates  of  the  landed  proprietors  began  to  dot 
the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  thus  introducing  into  the 


u6    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

New  World  the  customs  of  the  old.  The  guns  of 
the  warship  seemed  actually  to  bristle  belligerently, 
and  the  sloops  and  brigantines,  whether  they  came 
from  South  America  or  the  West  Indies,  were  all 
a-quiver  with  that  same  sinister  rumor.  And  it 
was  that  "the  French  of  Canada,"  together  with  the 
Indians  who  were  in  alliance  with  them,  were  march- 
ing to  an  attack  upon  New  England,  to  be  followed, 
if  not  accompanied,  by  an  onslaught  upon  New 
York.  The  wildest  reports  were  in  circulation;  the 
words,  "massacre"  and  "slaughter,"  were  on  every 
tongue;  the  air  was  vibrant  with  alarms  that 
seemed  to  be  repeated  in  the  very  whisperings  of 
the  trees,  lining  the  streets  or  dustering  in  the 
cherry  orchards. 

Lord  Bellomont  took  official  cognizance  of  these 
reports  by  ordering  the  strengthening  of  the  Battery, 
which  extended  over  the  waters  of  the  harbor  at 
that  point  of  land  whereon,  since  the  days  of  Stuy- 
vesant,  had  stood  the  Fort,  changing  its  cognomen 
with  each  successive  ruler.  There  was  a  repetition 
of  that  excitement  which  had  prevailed  during  the 
term  of  oflBce  of  Lord  Bellomont's  predecessor, 
who  had  ordered  the  building  of  a  Battery.  For 
then  it  had  been  proclaimed  "that  the  Governor 
and  Council,  in  consequence  of  actual  war  between 
the  King  and  Queen  on  the  one  hand  and  the  French 
upon  the  other,  has  been  informed  that  a  squadron 
of  ships  are  ordered  to  invade  that  city,  and  there- 
fore orders  that  a  platform  be  made  upon  the  utmost 
points  of  the  Rocks  and  the  Fort."  "Whereupon," 
as  the  Governor  said,  "I  intend  to  build  a  battery 
to  command  both  rivers."  In  pursuance  of  that 
intention,  he  had  further  given  instructions  to  the 
Corporation  of  the  city,  "to  order  the  inhabitants 


FEARS  REAL  AND  IMAGINARY     117 

of  the  out  ward  of  the  city  and  Mannings  and  Barnes 
Islands  to  cut  down  eighty-six  cords  of  stockade, 
twelve  feet  in  length,  and  to  have  them  ready  at 
the  water's  side  to  be  conveyed  to  New  York  at 
the  charge  of  the  city  and  country." 

All  these  orders  had  been  duly  carried  out,  to  the 
great  relief  of  the  present  dwellers  in  Manhattan. 
For  there  was  the  Battery  ready  to  repel  the  inva- 
sion, which  had  never  previously  been  undertaken 
either  by  the  French  of  Canada  or  any  other  French. 
Equally  groundless,  indeed,  proved  the  rumor  upon 
this  occasion,  to  the  disappointment  of  the  Earl  of 
Bellomont,  who  was  a  soldier  before  everything  else, 
and  of  the  military  members  of  his  Household,  as 
well  as  of  the  soldiers  garrisoned  in  Manhattan  and 
the  sailors  on  board  the  warship  in  the  harbor,  who 
were  all  pleasantly  excited  and  diverted  by  the  pos- 
sibility of  a  fracas  which  had  proved  so  disturbing 
to  the  peaceably  inclined  citizens. 

While  New  York  was  thus  holding  its  breath  be- 
cause of  a  rumor  which  later  proved  without  foun- 
dation, opportunity  was  taken  by  malicious  persons 
to  sow  the  suspicion  that  the  Papists  might  make 
common  cause  with  the  French  of  Canada  and  be- 
tray the  city  into  their  hands.  These  sinister 
whispers  increased  in  volume  till  honest  citizens, 
going  forth  of  an  evening,  were  terrified  by  their 
own  shadows,  which  they  magnified  into  Popish 
conspirators.  Every  dark  comer  was  supposed  to 
be  peopled  with  them;  they  were  poisoning  the 
wells;  they  were  about  to  bum  the  town.  Such 
strange  sights  were  seen  as  gentlemen,  armed  with 
sword-canes  or  other  weapons  of  defence,  drawing 
upon  their  dearest  relations  or  most  intimate  friends 
in  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  mistaking  them  for 


^"•t:- 


ii8    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

emissaries  of  the  Pope  of  R»,me.  There  was  not  a 
man  from  one  end  of  Manhattan  to  the  other  who 
could  have  told  where  these  Papists  kept  themselves 
hid,  or  could  have  estimated  their  numbers — which 
were  indeed  so  ridiculously  small  that,  if  they  had 
been  made  public,  they  would  have  turned  all  those 
valiant  citizens  into  a  laughing-stock  for  the  town. 
Many  or  few,  these  scaremongers  insisted  on  being 
devoured  by  them.  They  saw  strange  lights  in  the 
sk^,  but  would  not  admit  the  hjrpothesis  of  auroras 
or  any  other  natural  cause;  even  the  marsh  lights  in 
swampy  places  were  supposed  to  betoken  the  ad- 
vance of  that  mysterious  enemy.  When  or  how  they 
had  received  arms  or  other  offensive  weapons,  what 
ships  had  been  guilty  of  such  transportation,  no  one 
stopped  to  inquire.  A  reputable  citizen,  who  suffered 
at  other  times  from  no  particular  lack  of  courage, 
spent  an  hour  one  fine  evening  in  dodging  behind 
trees  to  avoid  his  next-door  neighbor,  who  was 
similarly  employed,  as  each  took  the  other  for  a 
murderous  Papist  bent  on  liis  destruction.  Even 
barking  dogs  were  regarded  with  suspicion,  as  having 
been  set  on  by  luring  Popish  scouts  to  bite  the 
calves  of  jxxily  church  members;  and  a  horse  which 
ran  away  >?as  supposed  to  have  had  nettles  put  in 
his  ear  or  pepper  in  his  eyes  by  the  same  nefarious 
traffickers.  Of  course,  many  of  those  who  made 
capital  of  all  these  fears,  and  used  them  to  incite 
greater  zeal  for  the  Protestant  Succession  in  Eng- 
land and  for  its  champions  upon  this  side  of  the 
vater,  were  busily  engaged  in  trampling  on  other 
people's  liberty  in  New  York.  Again,  there  were 
others — ^and  the  headquarters  of  these  level-headed 
Manhattanese  was  in  the  mansion  of  Madam  Van 
Cortlandt — who  mocked  at  such  idle  terrors,  and 


FEARS  REAL  AND  IMAGINARY     119 

openly  declared  that  they  were  old  wives'  tales,  in- 
vented by  the  Leislerians  to  injure  their  enemies. 

in  the  Governor's  Household  opinions,  it  was 
said,  were  divided.  My  Lady  BeUomont  w£s  quite 
indifferent  to  all  this  uproar,  and  with  her  amongst 
others  was  Captain  Ferrers,  who  knew  too  much 
concerning  people  of  the  Catholic  faith  to  believe 
anything  that  was  said.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Oovernor,  influenced  by  John  Nanfan  and  others, 
whether  from  motives  of  policy  or  from  a  sincere 
behet  in  the  dangerous  character  of  the  Romanists, 
regarded  the  situation  gravely,  and  held  long  con- 
ferences regarding  the  defence  of  the  city  from  these 
supposed  enemies  within,  no  less  than  from  those 
without.  To  Prosser  Williams  the  matter  was  su- 
premely indifferent.  Like  the  majority  of  those  who 
followed  the  fortunes  of  William  of  Orange  and  in 
so  doing  forswore  their  allegiance  to  the  hereditary 
sovereign  of  Great  Britain,  he  affected  extreme  hatred 
of  all  adherents  of  the  Pope  of  Rome,  and  was  ready 
to  charge  them  wi.h  any  atrocity.  But,  in  his  secret 
mind  and  sometimes  in  company  with  my  Lady 
BeUomont,  he  permitted  himself  to  make  sport  of  the 
timorous  citizens  who  tilted  at  windmills  and  other- 
wi^  emulated  the  surprising  feats  of  Don  Quixote 
and  his  worthy  squire. 

As  the  agitation  tims  grew  from  day  to  day 
Captam  Egbert  Ferrers  felt  no  little  anxiety  on 
behalf  of  Mistress  Evelyn  de  Lacey.  She  and  her 
father  might,  he  feared,  become  in  some  way  or 
another  victims  of  misguided  zealots,  who,  as  he 
angrily  declared  when  communing  with  himself 
could  see  no  farther  than  their  noses,  and  were  as 
fearful  as  mice  where  Papists  were  concerned.  He 
could  not  confide  his  misgivings  to  -uiyone,  and 


120    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

Lord  Bellomont,  being  just  then  taken  up  with  a 
variety  of  matters,  required  such  constant  attend- 
ance from  the  members  of  his  Household  that  it 
was  difficult  to  find  an  opportunity  to  put  Evelyn 
and  her  father  upon  their  guard.  And  so  events 
were  shaping  themselves  in  a  manner  which,  as  shaU 
be  seen  in  the  sequel,  was  to  prove  disastrous  to 
the  cause  of  CathoUcity,  as  weU  as  extremely  vexa- 
tious to  those  with  whom  this  narrative  is  immedi- 
ately concerned. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


THE  SHADOW   OF  CAPTAIN  KIDD 


AS  before  mentioned  in  this  narrative,  Lord 
Bellomont,  acting  on  instructions  from  the 
King  and  several  powerful  noblemen,  and,  as  the 
disaffected  whispered,  with  a  view  to  replenish  a 
depleted  treasure,  had  inaugurated  a  new  system  of 
privateering.  Its  object — real  or  ostensible,  accord- 
ing to  the  view  taken  of  the  transaction — was  to 
protect  commerce  upon  the  high  seas  from  the  ever- 
growing boldness  of  pirates,  and  also  to  put  an  end, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  smuggling,  which  had  caused 
New  York  to  be  regarded  as  the  chief  centre  of  illicit 
traffic  in  the  Colonies.  The  voice  of  rumor,  which 
had  long  been  secretly  busy  with  the  matter,  was 
now  unloosed,  and  told  the  wildest  tales  of  "notorious 
and  inhuman  pirates"  who  infested  the  seas,  some 
even  claiming  to  have  commissions  from  the  late 
Governor  of  New  York.  Under  the  very  noses  of 
the  authorities,  these  pirates  had  brought  costly 
wares  and  the  products  of  the  most  distant  lands  into 
the  dty.^  This  was  often  done,  it  was  alleged,  with 
the  connivance  of  prominent  citizens  and  in  defiance 
of  restrictive  ordinances,  which  were  held  to  be 
tyrannical  and  oppressive.  Thus,  when  one  of  the 
leading  women  of  society  appeared  one  evening  at 
an  assembly  with  a  superlatively  fine  jewel,  it  was 


122    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

whispered  about  that  it  had  been  given  as  hush 
money  to  her  husband  by  a  pirate,  who  had  obtained 
it  by  the  murder  of  an  Eastern  princess.  A  well- 
known  merchant  was  rumored  to  have  under  his 
bed  a  large  box  of  gold  dinars,  which  had  been  ob- 
tained by  similar  violent  methods. 

Hence  it  was  that,  since  the  navy  was  much 
weakened  by  the  late  wars,  my  Lord  Bellomont 
had  suggested  to  the  King  the  employment  of 
private  men-of-war,  and  wealthy  New  Yorkers, 
notably  Robert  Livingston,  either  impelled  by  pa- 
triotic motives  or  for  their  own  profit,  expressed 
their  willingness  to  co-operate  in  the  inauguration 
of  the  new  system,  and  to  contribute  towards  the 
expenses  of  the  impromptu  navy.  Through  the 
representations  of  Robert  Livingston,  Captain  Kidd 
received  from  Lord  Bellomont,  with  the  sanction  of 
the  King,  full  power  to  capture  and  deal  as  he  saw 
fit  with  pirates,  with  whose  methods  and  places  of 
resort  he  was  familiar.  This  appointment  later 
subjected  the  Earl  to  severe  criticism.  But,  be- 
sides the  recommendation  of  a  thoroughly  reputable 
citizen,  he  had  some  warranty  for  his  choice  of  a 
Commander.  For  in  1691,  four  years  before  Lord 
Bellomont's  appointment,  two  members  of  the 
Council,  Messrs.  Monville  and  Willett,  were  deputed 
to  attend  the  House  of  Representatives  and  acquaint 
them  with  the  good  service  rendered  to  the  Colony 
by  the  "said  Captain  Kidd  in  attending  with  his 
vessels  the  arrival  of  the  Governor,  and  to  urge  that 
it  would  be  acceptable  to  His  Excellency  and  to  this 
Board  that  some  suitable  reward  be  made  him." 
And  the  reward  was  actually  given,  the  Receiver 
General  being  instructed  to  pay  to  Captain  William 
Kidd  the  sum  of  150  pounds  currency  (a  large  sum 


THE  SHADOW  OF  CAPTAIN  KIDD   123 

of  money  at  that  time)  for  his  "good  services  done 
to  the  Province."  Now  it  is  very  possible  that  this 
reward  and  the  honorable  mention  of  the  celebrated 
commander  were  greet.  ,d  with  shouts  of  derisive 
laughter  by  such  men  as  Captain  Greatbatch  and 
those  others  who  were  in  the  habit  of  taking  a  con- 
vivial glass  at  the  tavern  of  Der  Halle  and  elsewhere. 
But  the  honors  and  emoluments  then  conferred  at 
least  gave  Lord  Bellomont  justification  for  that 
selection  which  turned  out  so  ill. 

The  robbers  of  the  sea  and  those  dealers  in  illicit 
wares  who  assembled  for  their  smoke  and  glass  at 
the  tavern,  were  at  one  in  mocking  at  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  redoubtable  Kidd  to  patrol  the  seas. 
Whether  their  amusement  arose  from  actual  knowl- 
edge or  from  the  general  probabilities  of  the  case,  it 
is  impossible  to  say.  That  he  might  fill  his  new  office 
with  credit  where  other  nefarious  traffickers  were 
concerned,  they  did  not  doubt;  but  that  he  would 
refrain  for  one  moment  from  laying  hands  on  what- 
ever booty  came  his  way  was  in  their  estimation 
beyond  all  credence.  So  like  a  thunderbolt  came 
down  upon  the  town  the  tidings  concerning  the 
"Quidder  (or  Quedah)  Merchant,"  a  vessel  which  was 
laden  with  a  particiilarly  costly  cargo.  The  mer- 
chandise on  board,  consisting  of  Oriental  gems  and 
gold,  the  finest  wines  and  the  richest  stuffs,  was  said 
to  reach  what  seemed  in  those  days  a  fabulous  value. 
The  mystery  pertaining  to  her  capture  set  afloat  a 
crop  of  rumors,  which  at  first  could  not  be  verified. 
Dark  and  terrible  were  the  hints  thrown  out  at  the 
taverns  amongst  usually  well-informed  seafaring 
men  and  riverside  characters,  as  well  as  at  the  as- 
semblies, the  supper  parties,  the  dances  and  the  card 
parties,  in  which  Dutch  New  York  delighted.    The 


i 


124    GERALD  d-.  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

capture  of  the  most  valuable  cargo  that  had  crossed 
the  seas  in  many  months  shook  public  confidence 
once  and  forever  in  the  new  system  of  privateering, 
and  also  showed  to  the  minds  of  many  upon  what 
an  imstable  foundation  it  had  rested.  So  distorted 
were  some  of  the  rumors  that  they  actually  called 
into  question  the  highest  authorities,  who  were  ac- 
cused of  complicity  in  ♦he  disaster.' 

One  evening,  when  the  public  excitement  was  at 
its  highest,  and  the  parlor  of  Der  Halle  was  fuller 
than  usual,  Mynheer  de  Vries  conversed  in  mys- 
terious whispers  with  half  a  dozen  of  his  cronies. 
That  public  room  of  the  tavern  was  a  cheerful  spot, 
its  broad-beamed  low  ceiling  catching  the  cheerful 
flames  that  leaped  up  from  the  hearth  and  played 
over  the  tables,  on  the  pewter  mugs,  and  on  the  anx- 
ious or  cynically  sn'.jmg  faces  of  those  present. 
In  almost  every  group  might  be  heard  the  name  of 
Captain  Kidd,  whom  rumors,  as  yet  unsubstanti- 
ated, connected  with  the  disaster.  During  a  pause 
in  the  conversation,  all  eyes  turned  suddenly  tow- 
ards the  door.  It  admitted,  when  opened,  a  terrific 
blast  of  wind,  which,  like  the  ominous  breath  of 
coming  disaster,  sent  a  shiver  through  the  room. 
There  was  a  stamping  of  feet  and  everyone  looked 
expectant.  But  it  was  only  Captain  Greatbatch, 
who  had  just  returned  from  a  perfectly  honest  and 
legitimate  voyage;  or  so  it  appeared,  for  the  Captain 
was  cautious,  and  now  realized  that  Lord  Bellomont 
was  of  a  temper  very  different  from  that  of  the  late 
Governor,   who   was   charged   with  having   given 

•The  balance  of  probability  seems  to  be  that  Lord  Bellomont 
acted  in  good  faith  in  the  appointment  of  Captain  Kidd,  though 
that  pirate  after  his  arrest  charged  both  Governor  and  King  with 
comiJlicity  in  his  enterprises,  and  a  clamor  was  raised  by  the  liarl  a 
political  opponents, 


THE  SHADOW  OF  CAPTAIN  KIDD   nj 

commissions  to  pirates,  having  associated  with 
smugglers,  and  permitted  them  to  make  a  rendez- 
vous of  the  mansion  in  the  Fort.  Greatbatch's 
vessel  had  just  returned  from  the  Island  of  Curajoa. 
The  cargo  he  had  brought  was  duly  entered  and  paid 
for  at  the  Customs,  and  all  questions  answered. 
Still  there  were  some  who  whispered  that  other 
wares  had  reached  the  port,  and  had  passed  from  the 
Captain's  cabin  to  persons  unknown  on  shore.  But 
that  again  might  have  been  merely  arguing  from  the 
possibilities. 

The  Captain  cried  out  that  it  was  a  wild  night, 
a  sentiment  with  which  the  company  could  unani- 
mously agree.  It  was  evident,  however,  that  all 
were  waiting  for  news  which  this  rude  sea-dog 
might  tell,  if  he  would ;  or  at  least  for  opinions  which 
he  would  be  likely  to  express  with  his  customary 
brutal  frankness.  Greatbatch  was,  at  first,  in  a  surly 
and  uncommunicative  mood.  He  sat  down  with  his 
order  of  two  fingers  of  rum  and  some  eatables  at 
a  table  well  removed  from  the  others.  They  were 
all  too  cautious  to  approach  him  until  the  second 
portion  of  rum,  which  he  presently  ordered,  took 
its  effect.  Then  the  smuggler  began  to  address  re- 
marks to  Mynheer  de  Vries  and  other  prominent 
men  who  sat  at  the  same  table,  and  each  of  them 
winced  at  his  coarse  familiarity  and  what  it  implied, 
glancing  furtively  at  his  neighbor  to  mark  the  dfect. 
The  room  in  general  had  been  waiting  for  this  moment 
when  the  Barbadoes  mm  would  unloose  Greatbatch's 
tongue. 

"Mynheer  de  Vries  and  gentles  all,"  he  exclaimed 
in  his  deep,  rough  voice,  "I  give  you  a  toast  which 
the  men  of  the  seas  here  present  will  drink  with 
pride." 


* 


*  a: 


126    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

There  was  a  movement  of  interest  and  yet  of  un- 
easiness, intensified  by  the  entrance  of  two  figures  in 
heavy  overcoats.  With  a  thrill  of  dismay— for  what 
mieht  not  Greatbatch  divulge?— it  was  noted  that 
thwe  were  Captain  Egbert  Ferrers  and  Captain 
Prosser  Williams,  the  two  best-known  membe«  of  all 
the  Governor's  Household  and  those  who  had  most 
identified  themselves  wth  the  social  life  of  the  colony. 
Nodding  to  those  of  their  acquaintances  whom  they 
perceived,  they  sat  down  at  a  table,  ordering  two 
glasses  of  hot  negus,  for  the  night  was  bitterly  cold 
and  they  had  had  a  long  tramp. 

After  a  momentary  survey  of  the  two  new-comers, 
whom  he  did  not  recognize  or  to  whose  presence 
he  was  indifferent,  Captain  Greatbatch  once  more 
called  upon  the  assembly  to  drink  his  toast.  There 
was  a  gleam  of  triumphant  malice  in  his  eyes,  and 
his  face  broadened  into  a  grin  of  malignant  droUery, 
as  he  cried  out ;  , 

"I  give  you  a  toast,  gentles,  to  one  who  nearly  a 
decade  since  received  a  hundred  and  fifty  pounds 
current  money  of  these  colonies  for  services  rendered, 
being  also  publicly  thanked  for  those  seivices,  though 
no  mention  was  made  of  other  irons  that  he  had 
in  the  fire.  It  is  the  same  one  who  has  been  placed 
over  us  all,  young  and  old  men,  by  His  Excellency  s 
worship,  with  what  motive  God  knoweth.  I  give 
you  gentles  and  seamen  here  present,  the  health, 
the  prosperity,  the  good  fortune  of  the  greatest  sea- 
rover  that  ever  left  this  port  or  any  other.  Cap  n 
William  Kidd."  .  ,.    . 

So  far  there  was  nothing  that  anyone  could  ob- 
ject to,  were  it  not  the  innuendo  contained  m  that 
allusion  to  His  Excellency,  which,  in  fact,  would 
have  been  well  enough  received  but  for  the  presence 


THE  SHADOW  OF  CAPTAIN  KIDD   127 

of  two  of  his  gentlemen.  There  was  a  confused 
munnur  from  one  table  or  another,  and  each  one 
hesitated  to  raise  his  glass  to  his  lips. 

"What?"  cried  Greatbatch,  exploding  with  riot- 
ous mirth,  in  which  Captain  Ferrers  felt  a  strong 
inclination  to  join.  "Is  there  no  one  to  drink  to 
the  health  of  the  mighty  Captain,  who  has  been 
placed  over  all  that  we  may  be  kept  within  the  bounds 
of  the  law,  that  he  may  suppress  smuggling — save 
the  mark! — and  piracy,  and  instruct  us  in  our  duty?" 

The  murmurs  grew  louder,  and  amongst  the  lower 
order  of  those  present  brows  were  dark  and  scowling, 
while  the  gentlemen,  who  might  have  otherwise 
treated  the  matter  as  a  joke,  felt  disturbed  and  un- 
easy because  of  the  presence  of  the  two  officers. 
No  glass  was  raised,  however,  save  that  of  Great- 
batch,  who,  having  risen  to  his  feet,  held  his  liquor 
poised  in  mid-air,  while  he  looked  maliciously 
around. 

"Why,  what  ails  you,  gentlemen?"  he  cried, 
addressing  himself  more  particularly  to  that  table 
at  which  sat  Mynheer  de  Vries  and  his  friends. 
"Won't  you  drain  a  glass  to  Cap'n  Kidd,  the  favored 
puppet  of  my  Lord  Bellomont?" 

But  here  there  was  an  unexpected  interruption. 
Leaning  back  in  his  chair  and  looking  the  speaker 
full  in  the  face.  Captain  Ferrers  said  quietly,  though 
there  was  sternness  mingled  with  his  jesting  tone: 

"My  friend,  propose  what  toasts  may  seem  good 
to  you,  but  I  would  advise  that  you  leave  out  of  them 
the  name  of  His  Excellency." 

The  words  were  greeted  with  applause  by  those 
who  sat  around  Mynheer  de  Vries,  and  at  two  or 
three  other  tables  where  gentlemen  or  respectable 
tradesmen  had  gathered.     Those  of  the  seafaring 


<u 


l^ 
^ 


128    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

class,  who  held  together  in  one  comer,  watched  and 
waited. 

"And  who  are  you,"  roared  Greatbatch,  trucu- 
lently, "that  comes  into  a  house  of  public  entertain- 
ment and  attempts  to  interfere  with  liberty  of 
speech?" 

"Who  I  am  matters  not,"  said  Captain  Ferrers, 
crossing  one  leg  over  the  other  and  regarding  Great- 
batch  with  smiling  composure.  "But  you  will  show 
your  wisdom  by  taking  my  advice." 

"I  give  my  toast,"  persisted  Greatbatch,  with  a 
malignant  scowl  at  the  young  officer,  "to  Cap'n 
Kidd,  made  Admiral  of  the  Seas." 

Then  addressing  himself  directly  to  those  in  the 
comer  of  the  room,  from  whom  he  was  sure  at  least 
of  a  measure  of  sympathy,  he  added : 

"Three  times  three,  my  hearties,  for  Cap'n  Kidd, 
who  with  his  private  man-of-war  is  free  from  this 
day  on  to  rob  whom  he  will.  Drain  your  glasses 
to  the  Govemor's  pet ,  who  will  make  him,  I  doubt 
not,  a  fine  gift  of  the  '  Quidder  Merchant.' " 

In  an  instant  the  room  was  in  a  tumult.  Captain 
Ferrers  with  one  bound  was  at  the  ruffian's  side, 
and,  seizing  him  by  the  collar,  forced  him  into  his 
seat,  adding  a  stinging  blow  to  the  fellow's  ear. 
Prosser  Williams,  though  mwardly  execrating  the 
inconvenient  loyalty  of  his  companion,  sprang  for- 
ward perforce  to  his  assistance,  drawing  his  sword 
and  putting  himself  on  guard.  To  their  side  sprang 
also  Pieter  Schuyler,  who  had  looked  in  for  a  moment 
on  his  way  from  a  card  party  at  Vrow  Van  Bmgh's, 
whence  he  had  escorted  his  cousin  Polly  and  her 
friend  home  to  Madam  Van  Cortlandt's,  where 
Evelyn  was  spending  the  night.  His  mind  was  still 
full  of  the  girl  and  of  the  words  thj^t  she  had  spoken, 


THE  SHADOW  OF  CAPTAIN  KIDD   129 

and  of  her  aspect,  as,  hooded  and  cloaked,  she  had 
smiled  at  him  from  the  open  door  of  the  house,  and 
had  bade  him  a  pleasant  good-night.  To  be  thus 
brought  from  her  presence  into  a  brawl,  the  outcome 
of  which  seemed  doubtful  for  a  moment,  was  a  de- 
cided shock,  but  there  was  an  excitement  in  it  too. 
The  half-score  of  gentlemen  present  felt  that  they 
would  have  to  support  Captain  Ferrers  for  appear- 
ance' sake,  although  some  of  them  had  reasons  which 
made  an  open  quarrel  with  Captain  Greatbatch 
exceedingly  unpalatable.  They  were,  however, 
easily  outnumb^ed  by  the  group  of  seafaring  men 
in  the  farther  comer,  some  of  whom  were  familiar 
associates  of  Greatbatch,  and  had  been  involved  in 
many  of  his  desperate  enterprises.  Others  were 
honest  sailors  who  had  no  particular  connection  with 
him,  but  the  whole  twoscore  or  more  were  prepared 
to  stand  by  their  fellow-tar,  so  that  the  affair  seemed 
likely  to  assume  an  ugly  aspect.  Rising  to  his  feet. 
Captain  Greatbatch  rushed  like  a  bull  in  the  direc- 
tion of  his  late  assailant,  but  the  latter,  cool  and  un- 
perturbed, though  exceedingly  angry  at  the  insinu- 
ation which  had  been  made,  stood  his  ground  and 
waited,  refusing  even  to  draw  his  sword  in  such  an 
unworthy  quaircl.  Hastily  summoned  from  the 
kitchen,  the  inn-keeper,  a  fat  Dutchman,  peaceable 
and  good-humored  to  the  last  degree,  threw  up  im- 
ploring hands  and  begged  his  patrons  to  keep  the 
peace.  While  so  doing  he  sustained  in  his  sub- 
stantial person  the  onrush  of  Captain  Greatbatch, 
whose_  unsteady  legs  made  his  progress  uncertain. 
Clapping  his  hands  to  his  stomach  and  exclaiming 
that  the  wind  had  been  knocked  out  of  him,  the 
would-be  peacemaker  only  added  to  the  confusion. 
The  low-browed  qien  drew  near,  some  of  them  with 


I30    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

dirks  drawn,  others  with  brawny  fists  upraised, 
and  with  curses  on  their  lips,  prepared  to  vindicate 
the  right  of  mariners  to  talk  as  they  pleased.  Loud 
voices,  growls  of  anger,  and  the  bellowing  voice  of 
Greatbatch  made  a  pandemonium  unspeakable;  and 
a  riot  of  a  very  serious  character  seemed  imminent 
when  the  cool,  even  tones  of  Mynheer  de  Vries,  who 
had  mounted  upon  a  stool,  was  heard  above  the 
tumult. 

"Worthy  men  all,  I  implore  you  to  keep  the  peace. 
Here  are  you  menaced  with  a  very  grave  matter. 
For  we  have  in  the  company  two  of  the  Gentlemen 
of  His  Excellency's  Household." 

There  was  a  startled  pause,  during  which  the 
tumult  of  voices  momentsuily  ceased,  and  even  the 
fiercest  of  the  brawlers  stood  imcertain.  Greatbatch 
himself,  held  back  by  a  gigantic  tradesman  in  leathern 
apron,  who  whispered  in  his  ear  and  strove  to  calm 
him,  cast  a  sullen  but  somewhat  apprehensive  glance 
in  the  direction  of  Captain  Ferrers.  That  officer 
had  not  moved  an  inch,  but  was  waiting  for  his 
would-be  assailant  carelessly.  But  the  sniooth 
voice  continued: 

"One  of  these  gentlemen  has  most  properly  re- 
sented a  jesting  remark  of  the  worthy  Captain 
Greatbatch,  who,  with  others  of  his  profession,  has 
felt  somewhat  sore  concerning  the  appointment  of 
Captain  Kidd  to  a  post  of  authority." 

Greatbatch,  scowling  and  sullen  but  somewhat 
subdued  since  the  quality  of  the  adversary  was 
made  known  to  him,  ttuned  his  blood-shot  eyes  from 
his  opponent  to  the  speaker,  whose  remarks  he  was 
inclined  to  resent. 

"Now  I  doubt  not,"  went  on  Mjmheer,  "that 
Captain  Greatbatch  will  cheerfully  explain  that  he 


THE  SHADOW  OF  CAPTAIN  KIDD   131 

was  ignorant  of  these  gentlemen's  presence,  and 
could  have  meant  no  oSence  to  them,  and  that  his 
niisplaced  pleasantry  was  but  an  i«ile  jest,  without 
intention  to  reflect  upon  His  Excellency's  person  or 
authority." 

Greatbatch,  though  he  was  not  too  tipsy  to  realize 
the  awkward  position  in  which  he  had  placed  him- 
self, continued  at  first  to  growl  that  he'd  be 
hanged  if  he'd  offer  an  apology  to  yonder  springald: 

"He  gave  me  the  lie,"  he  muttered  fiercely,  "and 
a  clout  in  the  ear  to  boot;  and,  gentleman  or  no 
gentleman,  it  must  be  a  blow  for  a  blow." 

"I  pray  you,  gentlemen  and  good  people  "  said 
Captain  Ferrers,  laying  aside  his  coat  and  his 
sword  with  it,  "to  let  lum  come  on,  if  so  minded, 
and  settle  this  matter  forthwith.  For  it  is  a  lesson 
this  surly  brute  doth  well  deserve,  who  has  dared 
to  speak  thus  in  my  presence  of  the  representative 
of  the  King's  Majesty." 

"God  bless  him!"  cried  several  ofiSdous  gentle- 
men.   "Aye  and  Lord  Bellomont,  too!" 

But  Greatbatch,  whether  deterred  by  the  deter- 
mined aspect  of  Captain  Ferrers  or  merely  abashed 
by  his  dignity  and  fearing  to  get  himself  seriously 
involved  with  the  highest  authorities,  suddenly 
changed  his  tune  and  came  forward  instead  to 
tender  his  humble  apology  for  the  words  that  he  had 
said,  hoping  that  the  gentleman  would  not  hold  it 
against  him,  nor  report  imfavorably  of  him  to  "His 
Excellency's  worship." 

Ca,ptain  Ferrers  thereupon  consented  to  consider 
the  incident  closed,  and,  resuming  his  coat  and 
sword,  took  his  leave  of  Mjmheer  and  the  other 
gentlemen,  making  his  acknowledgments  to  Pieter 
Schuyler,  who  had  shown  himself  ready  if  necessary 


132    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

to  take  up  the  quarrel.  On  the  homeward  way  with 
his  fellow-soldier,  who  said  but  little  and  for  more 
reasons  than  one  was  displeased  with  the  occurrence, 
Captain  Ferrers  said  thoughtfully: 

"I  fear  me  much  that  yonder  ruffian  has  expressed 
the  populai-  opinion."  At  which  Prosser  Williams, 
narrowing  his  eyes,  looked  at  him  without  reply. 

Since  this  narrative  cannot  deal  in  detail  with  the 
oft-told  story  of  Captain  Kidd  and  the  troubles 
which  his  misconduct  entailed  for  Richard,  Earl  of 
Bellomont,  it  may  suffice  to  say  that  that  celebrated 
sea-rover  had  indeed,  as  very  soon  came  to  be  known, 
turned  his  attention  from  the  business  of  privateering, 
which  he  found  unprofitable  and  even  futile.  Since 
both  pi-.'tes  and  smugglers  kept  out  of  his  way, 
he  detf  "-ined  upon  a  bold  stroke  which  should  es- 
tablish his  fortunes  and,  if  successful,  pave  the  way 
for  other  adventures.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he 
took  advantage  of  the  plenary  power  which  had  been 
given  him,  and  also  seemed  to  rely  upon  the  counte- 
nance and  support  of  His  Excellency. 

He  it  was  who  had  seized  upon  the  "Quidder  (or 
Quedah)  Merchant,"  an  East  India  merchantman 
heavily  laden  with  rich  goods,  in  which  many  mer- 
chants of  Boston  and  New  York  were  interested. 
He  burned  his  own  ship  "Adventure,"  which  was 
in  need  of  repair,  and,  boarding  the  prize,  sailed  for 
the  pirate  mart  of  Madagascar.  There  he  disposed 
of  the  rich  cargo  for  what  would  be  over  a  million 
dollars  of  present  currency.  On  hearing  that  his 
piracy  was  known  in  England,  and  that  he'  himself 
was  excepted  by  name  from  all  clemency  shown  to 
other  sea-robbers,  he  put  his  gold,  jewels  and  other 
ill-gotten  goods  on  board  a  sloop  and,  returning  to 
native   waters,   ran  ashore  on  Gardiner's  Island. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  CAPTAIN  KIDD   133 

There,  his  tnae  character  was  not  known  at  first, 
and  he  was  given  food  and  drink,  with  the  hospitality 
usual  at  that  epoch.  Then  he  began  to  display  his 
true  character.  He  imposed  silence  on  the  propri- 
etors of  the  place  by  the  most  awful  threats,  while 
on  the  other  hand  he  bestowed  a  handsome  present 
of  rich  stuff  on  those  who  assisted  in  conceaUiig  his 
identity.  For  there  were  only  too  many  who  were 
willing  to  profit  by  Kidd's  exploits,  as  long  as  they 
could  do  so  with  secrecy  and  success.  A  certain 
color  was  given  to  all  the  wild  rumors  when  Kidd, 
having  buried  his  treasures  on  Gardiner's  Island, 
had  the  audacity  to  run  into  Boston  Harbor,  and 
on  his  arrest,  which  evidently  he  did  not  expect, 
he  represented  himself  as  the  victim  of  a  mutiny 
and  addressed  a  forceful  appeal  to  Lord  Bellomont, 
as  one  friend  might  appeal  to  another. 

The  Governor,  who  was  greatly  disturbed  by  the 
reports  which  had  gone  about  and  which  his  friends 
and  admirers  repudiated  with  scorn,  turned  a  deaf 
ear  to  the  pleadings  of  his  whilom  commander,  and, 
after  correspondence  with  the  Home  Government, 
had  him  sent  in  chains  to  England.  Stmm.  «y  jus- 
tice was  there  dealt  out  to  him,  and  he  was  executed. 
But  even  that  stem  measure  did  not  silence  the 
tongues  of  the  malicious,  who  declared  that  the 
pirate  was  but  a  scapegoat,  who  had  ventured  too 
much  in  capturing  the  "Quidder  Merchant,"  and  had 
suffered  the  penalty  for  other  men's  schemes,  no 
less  than  for  his  own. 


BOOK  II 


\S\  ' 


i 


ff.  -M    ■ 


CHAPTER  I 

PERSECUTION  REVIVED 

IT  may  be  that  the  strife  of.  faction,  which  marked 
the  Earl  of  Bellomont's  term  of  office  from  its 
first  inception  in  April,  1698,  together  with  those 
troubles  resulting  in  the  death  of  Captam  Kida  and 
cuhninating  in  the  extreme  severity  with  which  he 
thenceforward  pursued  all  illicit  traders,  so  embit- 
tered him  that  he  was  eager  to  wreak  vengeance  upon 
someone.  Or  it  may  have  been  the  her«iitery 
hostility  of  his  family— and  particularly  of  his  father. 
Charles  Coote— towards  his  Catholic  fellow-country- 
men in  Ireland,  which  broke  out  with  still  greater 
venom  here  in  the  New  World,  where  arbitrary 
power  was  placed  in  his  hands.  But  it  is  certain 
that,  about  two  years  after  his  arrival,  he  yielded 
to  the  anti-CathoUc  influence  of  John  NanfM  and 
others,  or  perhaps  himself  outstripped  them  in  the 
race,  and  invoked  the  rigors  of  the  law  agamst  the 
Catholic  clergy,  and  the  Jesuits  in  particular. 

The  law  which  he  saw  fit  to  pass  at  a  session  of 
the  Council  on  August  9,  1700,  came  with  the  force 
of  a  stunning  blow  to  the  few  scattered  Catholics, 
who  had  gone  their  way  in  peace  and  obscunty,  and 


PERSECUTION  REVIVED 


I3S 


had  not  taken  any  part  in  the  troubles  between  the 
contending  parties.  Its  injustice  was  manifest  to 
the  majority  of  right-minded  citizens,  including  a 
large  proportion  of  the  Dutch  settlers  who,  until 
the  evil  days  of  Jacob  Leisler,  had  been  averse  to 
active  persecution.  It  is  true  that  there  were  laws 
for  the  regulation  of  public  worship  and  the  like, 
which  had  told  against  the  Catholic  clergy  and 
made  it  necessary  to  hold  Catholic  services  in  secret 
places  and  without  the  cognizance  of  the  authorities. 
But  still  there  had  been  no  overt  acts,  and  the  pres- 
ence of  CathoUcs,  if  suspected,  was  winked  at  by 
the  easy-going  officials. 

In  the  time  of  the  Catholic  Governor,  Dongan, 
and  with  a  Catholic  sovereign  reigning  in  England, 
Catholics  had  been  enabled  to  assemble  for  public 
worship  in  a  chapel  at  the  Fort  and  were  ministered 
to  by  the  Jesuit  Fathers  whom  Dongan « had  brought 
over  in  his  train.  The  time  came  when  that  Govern- 
or, who  had  striven  so  hard  to  procure  for  others 
the  freedom  of  worship  which  his  co-religionists  for 
that  brief  interval  enjoyed,  was  "hunted  like  a 
wolf"  by  the  vindictive  Leisler,  and  Catholic  priests 
were  banished  from  the  colony.  Since  the  Englidi 
Protestant  Governors  following  Dongan  had  taken 
no  active  steps  against  the  missionaries  or  other 
pnests,  it  had  been  hoped  that  Lord  Bellomont 
might  pursue  the  same  policy,  despite  the  unsavory 
reputation  of  his  family  for  religious  intolerance  of 
the  most  envenomed  kind.  But  those  hopes  were 
doomed  to  come  to  a  peremptory  end. 

•A  Protestant  historian  writes:  "  Dongan  was  a  man  of  integrity 
moderation  aiad  pmteel  manners,  and.  though  a  professed  Papist 
amoi«st  the  best  of  our  governors"  (Smith,  "History  of  New  York 
«o  1702  7. 


llli; 

I 


136    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

It  was  a  sultry  midsummer  evening,  when  the 
Dog  Star  was  reigning  over  the  town.  The  city  lay 
languid  and  enervat«i,  expecting  relief  only  from 
the  sea-breeze  that  at  night  blew  up  from  the  Bay. 
All  day  Manhattan  had  sweltered  under  the  fierce 
sun,  the  reflection  of  which  from  the  glassy  surface 
of  the  water  seemed  to  intensify  the  heat.  _  Not  a 
breath  stirred  the  leaves,  which  drooped  Ustlessly 
downwards.  The  sun  xt  like  a  ball  of  fire,  crimson- 
ing all  the  West;  the  stars,  as  they  came  forth,  were 
obscured  by  a  heat  mist;  while  the  young  moon, 
rising  white  and  clear,  likewise  took  on  a  ruddy 
tint  as  it  left  the  cool  shadows  gathered  on  the  hori- 
zon. 

Gerald  de  Lacey  had  been  feeling  all  that  day  an 
unwonted  depression,  for  the  trend  of  events,  which 
he  closely  followed  with  the  mind  of  one  trained  to 
think  upon  such  matters,  and  his  considerable  innei 
loiowledge  of  the  workings  of  governments  had 
caused  Wpi  to  fear  that  some  stroke  was  imminent. 
He  had  had  some  letters  from  Father  Harvey,  a 
Jesuit  now  of  the  Maryland  Mission,  who  had  been 
closely  associated  with  New  York  in  Dongan's 
time,  and  always  yearned  after  the  Dutch  capital. 
As  he  had  been  Mr.  de  Lacey's  particular  friend  and 
confessor  in  those  day»,  which  now  seemed  dream- 
like in  the  peace  and  security  that  they  offered  to 
men  of  all  faiths  and  especially  to  the  previously 
sorely-tried  Catholics,  there  was  a  peculiarly  inti- 
mate and  affectionate  bond  between  them,  almost 
that  of  father  and  son.  The  good  priest  had  been 
preparing  de  Lacey  for  what  he  felt  certain  would 
happen.  Gerald  knew  now  that,  behind  all  his  fears 
and  misgivings,  there  always  had  been  hope.  And 
tUs  hope  had  grown  stronger,  since  Lord  Bellomont 


PERSECUTION  REVIVED  137 

had  been  over  two  years  in  the  colony  and  must 
have  been  well  aware  that  the  Catholics,  even  if  they 
were  such  as  the  fanatics  affected  to  believe  them 
ojuld  have  no  power  to  do  harm  to  a  living  soul' 
But,  no  doubt,  the  doughty  Earl  was  anxious  to 
make  a  great  show  of  loyalty  to  the  Protestant  Suc- 
cession, and  to  retrieve  what  he  had  lost  in  public 
OTjuiion  by  the  ill-success  of  his  privateering  scheme. 
He  wanted  the  King  to  know  that  there  was  a  safe 
man  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  New  York,  and  so  took 
the  lead  in  a  new  outbreak  of  intolerance,  which  was 
presently  spread  to  the  neighboring  colonies. 

On  that  inauspicious  day,  Mr.  de  Lacey  had  gone 
out  for  a  walk,  and,  sitting  down  to  taste  some  new 
cider  under  the  trees  of  Der  Halle,  had  suddenly 
heard  the  news.    He  had  given  no  sign  as  he  listened 
to  the  talk  concerning  it,  though  his  heart  was  beat- 
mg  fast  and  his  pulses  leaping.    The  spirits  that 
accordmg  to  local  tradition,  held  back  the  storm 
wmds  behind  the  pile  of  great  rocks,    must  have 
been  keepmg  them  very  close  that  day,  for  scarce 
a  npple  stirred  the  languid  bosom  of  the  river,  and 
the  sails  of  the  boats  hung  listlessly  in  a  great  calm 
As  de  Lacey  finished  deliberately  his  drink  with 
mme  host,  the  latter  shook  his  head  over  the  startling 
news  of  that  day,  but  drew  forth  no  expression  of 
opmion  from  his  customer,  whose  religious  opinions 
were  of  course  unknown  to  him.    Holding  his  head 
very  high  and  with  some  new  animation  stirring 
through    all    his    frame,    that    loyal    member    of 
the   proscribed    faith   walked    quickly   home.     On 
the  way  he  encountered  Captain  Ferrers  and  ex- 
changed salutes  with  him,  though  their  acquaintance 
through  deliberate  caution  on  the  part  of  Evelyn's 
father,  had  been  of  the  slightest.    He  fancied  that 


lit 


I 


138    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

the  young  officer  looked  hard  at  him,  but  perhaps 
it  was  only  fancy.  For  it  was  highly  improbable 
that  Ferrers  could  know  what  was  only  dimly  re- 
membered by  some  older  people  here  in  Manhattan 
— ^that,  when  de  Lacey  had  been  attached  to  the 
Household  of  the  Catholic  Governor,  he  had  prac- 
tised the  Catholic  faith  in  the  chapel  at  the  Fort. 
Most  of  those  who  remembered  must  have  believed 
that  he  simply  attended  these  services  out  of  cour- 
tesy to  his  chief,  and  inquired  no  farther.  As  to  his 
subsequent  persecution  by  Jacob  Leisler  and  his 
expulsion  from  the  colony,  it  was  something  which 
had  been  suffered  by  many  of  the  leading  citizens, 
especially  those  of  the  Baykrd  party.  Hence  the 
term  "Papist"  was  often  applied  indifferently  to 
members  of  this  party  and  those  who  were  really 
Catholics,  and  it  was  probably  taken  for  granted 
that  Gerald  de  Lacey  was  only  one  of  the  former. 
For  some  time  after  the  coming  of  the  new  Governor, 
Gerald  had  had  another  fear  in  his  mind,  and  this 
was  that  either  or  both  of  the  two  officers  who  were 
so  prominently  connected  with  my  Lord  Bello- 
mont,  might  have  an  inconvenient  memory  of  cer- 
tain events  in  England,  which  had  been  the  immedi- 
ate cause  of  his  leaving  that  country.  But  the  time 
had  passed,  and  he  had  long  since  persuaded  him- 
self that  they  had  failed  to  recognize  him,  and  it 
was  most  improbable  that  they  would  do  so  now. 

When  he  reached  home  Evelyn  had  not  yet  re- 
turned. She  had  pne  to  take  dinner  with  her 
friend  Polly  Van  Coi..andt,  after  which  it  had  been 
her  intention  to  spend  an  hour  or  so  as  usual  with 
the  Wilden  at  their  camping  ground.  This  intention, 
however,  she  relinquished  on  hearing  the  ominous 
news  at  the  Van  Cortlandts',  and  hurried  home, 


Mf- 


PERSECUTION  REVIVED 


139 


reaching  there  but  a  few  moments  after  her  father. 
She  found  him  walking  about  in  the  garden  in  evi- 
dent agitation.  Catching  sight  of  Evelyn's  pale, 
troubled  face,  he  came  towards  her  with  both  hands 
outstretched.  In  that  sultry,  storm-laden  atmos- 
phere some  presage  of  future  trouble  seemed  to  weigh 
upon  the  minds  of  both.  The  heavy  scent  of  many 
flowers  smote  upon  their  senses.  They  were  the 
late  flowers  which  Evelyn  had  tended,  and  which 
had  replaced  with  their  richer  coloring  the  narcissi, 
pea  blossoms,  and  the  various  pale  blooms  of  the 
spring  and  early  summer.  Heliotropes,  poppies, 
nasturtiums,  pink,  crimson  and  white  roses,  pansies 
and  marigolds  filled  the  beds  and  spread  in  luxuriant 
profusion  over  every  available  comer. 

"Well,  little  daughter,"  said  Mr.  de  Lacey,  a 
light  from  within  illumining  his  face,  which  never- 
theless appeared  unwontedly  lined  and  careworn 
to  the  anxious  eyes  that  scanned  it,  "so  a  blow  has 
fallen  at  last,  which,  as  I  fear  me  much,  is  but  the 
precursor  of  many  another." 

"O  father  dearest,"  cried  Evelyn,  "it  is  dreadful, 
and  it  may  have  such  consequences." 

"There  is  but  small  doubt  that  it  will,"  said  Mr. 
de  Lacey.  "The  clergy,  and  especially  the  Jesuits, 
are  always  the  first  tc  suffer,  and  then  it  is  our 
turn." 

He  was  furthermore  convinced,  though  he  did 
not  say  so  to  Evelyn,  that  his  own  position  would 
soon  become,  if  it  were  not  ah^ady,  extremely  peril- 
ous. In  all  the  talk  that  was  sure  to  follow  upon 
this  m.'iasure  of  the  Governor,  the  fact  would  surely 
be  brought  to  light  that  he  was  a  Catholic,  having 
been  intimately  associated  with  Dongan  in  what- 
ever efiforts  were  made  for  the  welfare  of  his  co- 


!!  . 


I40    GERALD  pe  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

religionists.  Also,  it  was  quite  among  the  possibili- 
ties that  the  memory  of  one  or  both  of  those  members 
of  Lord  BeUomont's  Household  wught  suddenly 
awaken  to  what  had  been  his  record  in  England 
and  to  the  causes  of  his  lea^'ing  that  country. 

"But,"  he  said  at  last,  rousing  himself  as  if  from 
a  deep  reverie,  "if  persecution  comes  our  way,  we 
can  meet  it  as  did  our  ancestors  in  the  Faith.  You 
know  well,  little  daughter,  that  our  family  can 
boast  of  more  than  one  martyr  for  the  Faith,  and 
indeed  the  Irish  people  of  those  days  were  all  con- 
fessors, even  when  they  did  not  reach  the  higher 
plane  of  martyrdom." 

"We  will  meet  whatever  comes,  my  father  and 
I  together,"  said  Evelyn. 

In  moments  of  deep  excitement  she  did  not  talk 
much,  as  though  her  thoughts  were  too  deep  for 
speech.  But  there  was  a  glow  in  her  eyes  that  made 
it  seem  as  though  a  lamp  had  been  suddenly  lighted 
behind  them,  and  the  light  seemed  to  shine  out  from 
her  eyes  and  commvmicate  itself  to  others.  Her  head 
was  held  higher,  and  every  fibre  of  her  body  seemed 
to  express  courage  and  resolution.  She  could  per- 
ceive too  the  exaltation  in  her  father's  bearing. 
This  new  call-to-arms  had  roused  him,  as  of  old  the 
sound  of  the  trumpet,  when  he  had  taken  up  ma- 
terial arms  for  Idng  and  country.  Evelyn  now  felt 
ashamed  of  the  depression  and  the  fear  that  had 
overmastered  her,  when  first  she  had  heard  the  news 
at  the  Van  Cortlandts'.  The  soul  within  her  seemed 
to  take  fire  from  that  pure  spirit  which,  in  patient 
endurance,  had  already  undergone  a  martyrdom, 
and  was  now  ready  once  more  for  the  combat. 

CXit  of  the  blackness  that  had  settled  upon  the 
town,  as  they  still  lingered  in  the  perfumed  stillness 


PERSECUTION  REVIVED 


141 


of  the  garden,  they  heard  the  Watch  coming  with 
rattling  staves  and  hoarse  voices,  proclainung  as 
usual  die  hour,  the  state  of  the  weather,  and  lastly 
the  Act  of  His  Most  Worshipful  Richard,  Earl  of 
Bellomont,  Baron  of  Coolony,  Governor  of  the  Prov- 
ince of  New  York,  Captain  General  of  the  Forces, 
etc.,  against  all  Jesuits  and  Popish  priests,  forbidding 
under  {grievous  penalties  all  exercise  of  their  ministry, 
with  dire  pentdties  likewise  for  those  who  should 
harbor  or  consort  with  them.  The  two  stood  lis- 
tening with  blanched  faces,  for  this  solemn  proc- 
lamation appeared  to  bring  the  new  departure  home 
to  them.  To  Evelyn,  whose  heart  beat  high  with 
indignation,  it  seemed  absurd  and  outrageous  to 
suppose  that  such  measures  should  be  taken  here  in 
this  peaceful  town,  resting  between  its  swift-flowing 
rivers  and  with  its  harbor  that,  but  for  the  presence 
of  the  warship,  appeared  a  peaceful  haven  where  it 
might  have  been  supposed  that  the  oppressed  of 
all  nations  would  seek  and  find  shelter.  Father  and 
daughter  heard  with  a  new  sensation  the  gates  of 
the  town  being  shut,  simultaneously  with  the  an- 
nouncement by  the  Watch  of  the  hour  of  nine  and 
the  firing  of  the  gun  from  the  Fort.  That  simple 
act  somehow  suggested  a  restriction  of  freedom — 
bars  which  shut  them  and  their  fellow-Catholics 
ofif  from  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion.  Hence- 
forth, they  felt  convinced,  the  slightest  turn  of  events 
might  involve  them  in  material  ruin,  if  not  place  them 
in  actual  peril,  since  the  temper  of  the  Governor  and 
of  his  advisers  of  the  Protestant  party  was  thus 
shown.  The  law,  which  for  the  moment  chiefly  con- 
cerned the  clergy,  might  presently  be  extended  to  the 
faithful  laity,  if  indeed  they  were  not  already  touched 
by  one  of  its  clauses.    Experience  everywhere  had 


'■I 
ll 


If:' 


142    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

shown  that  intolerance,  once  let  loose,  had  but 
whetted  the  appetite  with  the  clergy  as  first  victims. 

To  Evelyn  that  hour  seemed  a  momentous  one, 
marking  an  epoch  in  her  life,  which  now  seemed  to 
have  been  idle  and  frivolous  up  to  this  moment. 
She  reproached  herself  that  she  had  ever  left  her 
father  alone  in  his  solitude,  even  though  it  had 
been  at  his  express  wish  and  almost  command. 
Her  love  of  dress,  the  solicitude  she  had  shown 
for  her  clothes,  came  out  of  the  darkness  to  re- 
proach her.  She  was  keyed  up  to  a  pitch  of  en- 
thusiasm which  only  youth  can  know,  and  which 
made  it  seem  as  if  no  sacrifice  would  be  too  great 
that  might  help  the  cause  or  give  her  a  share  in 
the  trials  that  were  gathering  about  it  like  storm- 
clouds  around  a  point  of  light. 

"It  would  be  after  all  so  fine  a  thing,  father," 
she  said,  "if  we  ^ould  be  called  upon  to  suffer  for 
the  Faith." 

He  reached  out  his  hand  and  stroked  her  hair  as 
he  had  often  done  when  she  was  a  child. 

"That  is  my  own  brave  girl,"  he  said.  "But  for 
the  moment  we  must  be  merely  prudent,  chan^g 
nothing  in  our  ordinary  mode  of  life  lest  suspicion 
should  be  thereby  excited.  There  are  but  few,  I 
think,  who  know  to  any  certainty  what  religion  we 
profess,  and  these  few  can  be  trusted." 

He  stopped  and  paced  up  and  do^m  the  garden 
walk  for  a  brief  interval,  as  iJE  to  recover  command  of 
himself.  Some  flowers  that  had  fallen  from  the 
bushes  in  a  heavy  shower  of  the  night  previous,  gave 
forth  a  sweet  odor  as  he  crushed  them  under  his 
feet,  as  a  heart  crushed  by  pain  gives  forth  its  sweet- 
est fragrance  of  charity  and  faith. 

"After  that,"  he  said  at  last,  for  in  Evelyn's 


PERSECUTION  REVIVED 


143 


^ence  he  felt  only  the  strong  support  of  her  sym- 
pathy and  the  assurance  of  her  strength,  "after  that 
we  must  do  as  God  directs.  I  have  been  reading 
with  all  care  the  Act,  which  is  now  made  public  and 
wtdch  I  shall  read  to  you  presently — or  such  por- 
tions thereof  as  may  be  pertinent.  We  must  not 
conceal  from  ourselves  that,  once  it  is  put  in  force, 
it  gives  a  broad  scope  for  oppressive  acts,  even  tow- 
ard the  laity." 

Though  he  did  not  say  so  to  her,  he  knew  that 
her  teadiing  of  the  Indiii  catechumens  might  very 
easily  bring  Evelyn  vmder  the  Act,  while  he  himseU 
might — and,  as  he  admitted,  with  some  justice — 
be  prosecuted,  even  on  an  accusation  of  high  treason, 
for  his  open  pro:  ssion  there  of  the  Catholic  faith, 
as  well  as  for  services  rendered  in  England  to  the 
late  King  and  against  that  other  whom  he  had  con- 
sidered as  a  usurper. 

"They  will  be  able  to  indict  me,"  he  said  to  him- 
self, "if  such  should  seem  good  to  them,  on  a  charge 
of  'consorting  and  conspiring  with  Jesuits,'  though 
in  truth  my  connection  with  those  saintly  priests 
and  missionaries,  either  here  or  overseas,  has  been 
altogether  of  a  spiritual  nature,  and  politics  was 
scarcely  so  much  as  mentioned  between  us.  But 
who  will  convince  them  of  that,  since  their  desire 
is  to  exterminate  Catholics  and  make  these  colonies 
wholly  Protestant?" 

To  Evelyn,  however,  he  merely  said  that  she 
must  be  careful  in  her  future  relations  with  the 
Wilden,  and  must  bind  them  to  the  closest  secrecy, 
which  they  above  all  people  were  capable  of  main- 
taining. "The  warning  given,  he  fell  back  into  some- 
thing more  than  his  customary  cheerfulness,  and 
laughed  and  jested  so  that  Evelyn  wondered  at 


p 


144    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

his  light-heartedness,  as  he  took  her  arm  to  lead 
her  into  the  study,  where  she  was  anxious  to  hear 
the  wording  of  the  Act  against  Popish  ministers. 
At  the  Van  Cortlandts'  they  had  been  chary  of  re- 
peating all  its  phrases.  Gerald  de  Lacey  threw  his 
hat  bojrishly  into  the  air  with  a  laugh  that  was 
reminiscent  of  his  youth,  raying  out : 

"And  meantime,  three  cheers  for  the  Jesuits  and 
all  other  Popish  priests." 

Though  he  had  not  raised  his  voice,  the  echoes 
seemed  to  catch  the  sound  and  repeat  it,  and  Evelyn 
laid  her  hand  on  his  arm  with  a  new  terror.  By  the 
light  of  the  wax  tapers  their  heads  were  presently 
bent  together  over  the  printe^  formula  of  that  Act, 
while  moths,  coming  in  from  the  garden  like  mes- 
sengers from  the  outside  darkness,  hovered  about 
their  heads,  and  the  cry  of  a  night-bird  might  be 
heard  sounding  hoarsely  through  the  gloom.  The 
father's  clear,  decided  voice  read,  while  Evelyn  rested 
her  arm  on  his  shoulder,  with  a  gesture  fuU  of  con- 
fidence and  affection: 

"Whereas  divers  Jesuits,  priests  and  Popish  mis- 
sionaries, have  of  late  come  and  for  some  time  have 
had  their  residence  in  the  remote  parts  of  the  Prov- 
ince and  others  of  His  Majesty's  adjacent  colonies, 
who  by  their  wicked,  subtle  insinuations,  indus- 
triously labor  to  debauch,  seduce  and  withdraw  the 
Indians  from  their  due  obedience  to  His  Sacred 
Majesty  and  to  excite  and  stir  them  up  to  sedition, 
rebellion  and  open  hostility  to  His  Majesty's  Gov- 
ernment. 

"Be  it  enacted  that  all  and  every  Jesuit  and 
seminary  priest,  missionary  or  other  spiritual  and 
ecclesiastical  person  made  or  ordained  by  any  au- 
thority, power  or  jurisdiction,  derived,  challenged, 


PERSECUTION  REVIVED 


H5 


or  pretended  from  the  Pope  or  See  of  Rome,  now 
residing  within  this  Province  or  any  part  thereof, 
shall  depart  from  it  before  the  ist  day  of  Novem- 
ber, 1700. 

"And  be  it  farther  enacted  by  the  authority 
aforesaid. 

"That  all  and  every  Jesuit,  seminary  priest, 
missionary  and  other  spiritual  or  ecclesiastic^  per- 
son, etc.,  that  shall  profess  himself  or  otherwise 
appear  to  be  such  by  preaching,  teaching  of  others 
to  say  any  Popish  prayers,  by  celebrating  Masses  or 
granting  absolutions  or  using  any  other  of  the 
Romish  ceremonies  or  religious  worship,  by  what 
name,  title  or  degree  soever  such  person  shall  be 
called  or  known,  who  shall  continue,  abide,  remain 
or  come  into  the  Province,  or  any  part  thereof, 
after  the  ist  day  of  November,  shall  be  deemed 
and  accounted  an  incendiary  and  disturber  of 
the  public  peace  and  safety  and  an  enemy  to  the 
true  Christian  religion  and  shall  be  judged  to 
suffer  perpetual  imprisonment,  and  if  any  such  per- 
son bang  perpetually  imprisoned  shall  break  prison 
and  make  his  escape,  he  shall  suffer  the  pains  of 
death,  with  penalties  and  forfeitures  as  in  case  of 
felony. 

"And  it  is  farther  enacted  by  the  authority  afore- 
said that  eveiy  person  who  shall  wittingly  and  be- 
lieyingly  receive,  harbor,  conceal,  aid,  succor  or 
relieve  any  Jesuit,  priest,  missionary  or  other  ec- 
clesiastical person  of  the  Romish  clergy,  knowing 
him  to  be  such  and  being  lawfully  convicted  before 
any  of  His  Majesty's  Courts  of  Record  within  this 
Province,  shall  forfeit  200  pounds  of  current  money 
of  this  Province;  and  such  persons  shall  be  farther 
punished  by  being  set  in  the  pillory  upon  several 


;•'. 
« 


146    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

days  and  also  be  bound  to  the  good  pleasure  of  the 
Court."' 

"And,"  cried  Mr.  de  Lacey,  striking  the  paper 
sharply  with  his  hand  to  emphasize  his  words, 
"every  charge  against  the  Catholic  priests  and  mis- 
sionaries, as  I  from  my  former  close  connections 
with  affairs  do  fully  realize,  is  false  as  hell.  The 
missionaries  ever  labor  to  keep  the  Indians  under 
their  control  loyal  to  the  Government  under  which 
they  Uve.  That  they  have  done  much  in  this  re- 
spect for  the  government  in  these  colonies  I  am  well 
aware.  And  at  the  present  moment  no  priests  or 
missionaries  are  resident  in  these  colonies,  for  they 
come  but  occasionally  to  exercise  their  ministry." 

Evelyn's  eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  she  could 
not  trust  hereelf  to  speak,  as  she  remembered  the 
saintly,  all-enduring  and  indefatigably  devoted  men 
who,  by  carrying  the  Gospel  to  the  Indians,  had 
done  so  much  to  civilize  them,  and,  by  keeping 
them  under  control,  bad  prevented  many  a  ferocious 
act. 

"It  has  ever  been  the  darling  project  of  my  Lord 
BeUomont,"  her  father  continued,  "to  place  Prot- 
estant ministers  amongst  the  savages,'  and  he  and 
all  his  advisers  now  lament  that,  as  a  matter  of  policy, 
such  was  not  done  before.  Though,"  he  added,  with 
a  lat^h,  "one  of  the  chief  obstades  to  that  scheme, 
as  he  and  others  declare,  is  the  difficulty  of  inducing 
men  of  the  cloth  to  take  up  their  abode  amongst 
the  redskins.  But,  nevertheless,  he  would  drive 
away  and  hunt  to  death  the  only  men  who  are  willing 

'See  LivingBton,  Smith,  Van  Schaick.  "Laws  of  New  York  from 
1664  to  lysv'  chap.  84,  p.  34;  Brinley  Bradford,  "Colonial  Laws," 
Vol.  I.  p  438. 

"See     Documents  Relating  to  Colonial  Laws,"  VoL  IV. 


!| d,   ! 


11 


PERSECUTION  REVIVED  147 

to  give  their  Uves  for  the  Gospel.  He  has  offered  re- 
wards for  their  apprehension,  which  even  the  Iro- 
quois have  scorned.  He  has  striven,  as  he  declares 
to  <»use  'implacable  hatred"  between  them  and 
the  Indians,  and  has  denounced  them  to  the  latter 
as  liars  and  impostors." 

His  voice  choked  with  emotion,  and  he  rose  and 
walked  to  the  window,  whence  he  presently  re- 
turned, saying: 

"Ah,  little  he  imagines  the  manner  of  men  with 
whom  he  has  to  deal,  when  he  seeks  to  terrify  them 
with  threats  of  imprisonment  or  death.  Are  they 
not  bravmg  death  daily  in  the  strongholds  of  the 
pagan  Indians,  or  following  them  through  trackless 
forests? 

"Oh.  why  was  this  odious  Earl  of  Bellomont  sent 
to  rule  us, '  cried  Evelyn,  indignantly,  "and  suffered 
to  make  such  laws!" 

"He  is  but  invoking  against  us,  or  placing  on  the 
statute  book,  laws  which  already  prevail  over  yon- 
der, and  which  Dutch  William  most  gladly  will  put 
m  force.  So  you  see,  my  Evelyn,  what  prudence 
will  be  required  on  your  part." 

"Boldness  would  consort  better  with  my  present 
mood,"  exclaimed  the  girl. 

"Prudence  is  nevertheless  the  true  courage,  and 
what  will  be  most  helpful  to  all  concerned,"  said 
Mr  de  Lacey.  "For,  as  to  your  relations  with  the 
Wtlden,  Lord  Bellomont  will  not  lightly  pardon 
any  action  upon  your  part,  which  puts  in  peril  his 
favonte  plan  of  detaching  the  savages  from  the 
Cathohc  faith.  He  will  hold  you  almost  as  a  mis- 
sionary if  he  should  but  discover  that  you  are  con- 
tinmng  at  the  camp  the  teachings  of  the  good 
Fathers."    He  drew  a  long  breath  and  then  said, 


4 


'  .<i 


148    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 
smilingly:  "However,  he  has  but  sounded  the  tocsin, 
and  we  nave  a  breathing  space." 

While  father  and  daughter  thus  conversed,  and 
during  the  days  that  followed,  that  law  of  my  Lord 
Bellomont  offered  food  for  conversation  m  every 
dwelling  and  in  all  the  taverns  of  Manhattan,  as 
weU  as  throughout  the  country,  smce,  m  almost 
identical  language,  it  was  P«»n"lfat!?  ,"*,  ^„^; 
chusetts  through  the  influence  of  that  fanatical 
scion  of  the  Coote  family. 


i: 


CHAPTER  n 

AN  ENEMY  DECLARES  HIMSELF 

THE  sky  was  still  overcast,  though  a  slight 
coolness  had  crept  up  from  the  Bay,  relieving 
the  sultriness  of  the  previous  day.  As  he  looked  out 
of  the  window  that  morning,  Evelyn's  father  had 
said  to  her  that  surely  there  would  be  rain.  But 
high  noon  and  dinner  hour  had  passed  and  still  the 
rain  kept  oS,  though  the  sun  was  obscured  and  there 
was  a  perceptible  dampness  in  the  air. 

Soon  after  dinner  Evelyn  set  forth,  walking  by 
the  banks  of  the  stream  towards  the  Collect  Pond 
and  the  Indian  encampment.  For  she  was  full  of 
anxiety  to  put  her  catechumens  amongst  the  Wilden 
on  their  giiard,  lest  by  word  or  sign  they  should  be- 
tray to  hostile  observers  the  creed  which  they  pro- 
fessed, and  so  implicate  the  missionaries,  if  any  of 
them  were  present  in  New  York  Colony,  besides 
proving  ruinous  to  her  father  and  herself.  The  en- 
campment presented  a  scene  of  indescribable  anima- 
tion, to  which  the  vivid  reds  and  yellows  of  the 
squaws'  dresses,  contrasting  with  the  green  of  the 
trees,  lent  color.  Some  of  the  women  were  busy 
pounding  com  in  the  stump  of  a  tree  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  a  low  croon  that  had  something  wild  and 
weird  in  its  musical  cadences.  Others  were  weaving 
com  leaves  into  mats  or  tying  them  up  into  brooms, 


1^ 

V 


I: 


If 


l^iU 


ISO    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

while  still  other  groups  were  stringing  clam-shells. 
The  last-named  carefully  separated  the  whole  shells 
without  blemish  for  the  more  valuable  wampum, 
whilst  the  broken  or  defaced  shells  served  for  the 
inferior  sewant,  both  being  used  as  currency. 

As  Evelyn  came  walking  through  the  woods,  with 
the  fragrance  of  pine  and  sassafras  and  other  wood- 
land odors  in  her  nostrils,  she  stopped  to  listen, 
for  the  old  squaw,  who  was  usually  the  spokes- 
woman of  the  tribe,  was  detailing  to  a  group  of  lis- 
teners an  account  of  Captain  Kidd.  The  romantic 
story  of  that  sea-rover  had  apparently  seized  upon 
their  imaginations,  told  as  it'  was  with  the  wild 
hyperbole  of  their  race. 

"The  great  chief  of  the  Sank-ni-canin  [the  fire- 
makers],"  the  old  squaw  was  saying,  "had  sailed 
over  the  big  Sea  Water,  and  had  seized  upon  the 
war  canoe  that  came  thither  from  beyond  the  set- 
ting sun.  In  it  were  the  gifts  of  the  great  Manitou 
— diining  metals  and  stones  that  glittered.  The 
chief  had  taken  these  and  buried  them  in  the  earth, 
or  in  the  depths  of  the  dark  waters." 

Evelyn  Imew  that  the  speaker  was  here  referring 
to  a  pond  on  the  Eastern  point  of  Sewanaka,  which 
had  an  uncanny  reputation  amongst  the  Indians. 
For,  though  it  was  near  the  ocean,  its  waters  were 
never  still,  but  always  bubbling,  and  perfectly  fresh. 
So  the  WHden  declared  that  it  was  guarded  by  a 
Manitou  or  spirit,  and  to  this  spirit,  as  ^e  old  woman 
declared,  the  chief  of  the  "firemakers"  had  entrusted 
from  time  to  time  his  sto'  n  treasure. 

Evelyn  could  not  repress  a  shudder  as  the  grew- 
some  history  of  Captain  Kidd  was  thus  recsdled  to 
her  mind.  For  she  well  remembered  having  fre- 
quently seen  that  notorious  pirate,  swaggering  about 


AN  ENEMY  DECLARES  HIMSELF    151 

tiie  dty  streets  with  his  great  pistols  at  his  belt. 
He  had  been  on  friendly  terms  with  many  of  the 
pnncipal  inhabitants,  and  had  married  the  daughter 
of  a  respectable  family.  She  had  heard  his  end  de- 
scribed: how  he  swung  in  chains  from  a  ghastly 
gibbet  over  beyond  the  seas  in  London,  while  much 
of  his  rich  booty,  at  least  such  as  he  had  buried  on 
Gardiner's  Island,  was  recovered  through  the  hon- 
esty of  the  Gardiner  family.  Enough  was  still  miss- 
ing to  excite  the  cupidity  of  mariners;  for  tales  were 
nfe  amongst  them  of  a  treasure  as  yet  undiscovered, 
the  remaining  portion  of  the  "Quidder  Merchant's" 
cargo.  And  this  was  part  of  the  booty  which  the 
Indians  believed  to  have  been  entrusted  to  the 
Manitou,  who  for  no  earthly  consideration  would 
yield  it  up  to  mortal  man. 

Evelyn's  mind  was,  however,  much  more  fully 
occupied  just  then  with  the  possibility  of  danger  to 
her  father,  herself,  or  the  missionaries  who  had  im- 
planted the  seeds  of  faith  in  the.  minds  of  the  Wilden. 
She  had  no  small  difficulty,  at  first,  in  explaining 
to  the  forest  people  the  danger  which  would  accrue 
to  herself  and  to  their  beloved  "blackgowns,"  if  it 
were  discovered  that  they  had  been  taught  the 
Gospel  mysteries,  and  had  been  baptized  or  were 
about  to  receive  the  waters  of  baptism.  But  once 
they  realized  Evelyn's  meaning,  they  formed  a 
circle  round  her  and  firmly  bound  themselves  by  a 
Silver  Covenant  of  friendship  to  speak  no  word  which 
might  betray  her,  and  to  guard,  if  necessary  with 
their  lives,  this  beloved  "pale-face  member  of  their 
tnbe"  from  every  danger.  This  last  clause  in  the 
new  Covenant  was  framed  by  the  Wilden  themselves, 
for  to  Evelyn  it  never  occurred  as  yet  that  here  on 
this  hitherto  free  soil  of  Manhattan,  where  she  had 


B«''    ' 

Ifl:  t 


m 


152    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

played  as  a  child  and  spent  those  years  of  her  early 
womanhood,  either  her  life  or  liberty  cottld  be  in 
danger. 

When  she  left  the  Collect  Pond  that  morning, 
pausing  an  instant  to  survey  the  tiny  island  on  the 
water's  glassy  surface  where  already  one  or  two  bits 
of  local  history  had  been  enacted,  she  ttimed  her 
steps  to  the  Broad  Way.  There  she  presently  be- 
held coming  towards  her  with  champing  of  bits  and 
clanking  of  bridles  the  outriders  and  postilions, 
heralding  the  approach  of  the  state  chariot.  Within 
its  luxurious  depths  Lord  Bellomont  sat  stiff  and  erect 
in  his  elaborate  military  uniform  beside  my  Lady, 
who  appeared,  as  Evelyn  thought,  somewhat  faded 
and  worn  in  the  broad  light  of  day.  Opposite  them 
was  Captain  Ferrers,  whose  eyes  for  an  instant 
caught  and  held  those  of  Evelyn.  The  listless  face 
of  Lady  Bellomont  brightened  into  momentary 
pleasure  at  sight  of  the  girl,  who  had  interested 
her  from  the  first.  She  said  in  a  voice  which, 
whether  intentionally  or  not,  was  quite  audible  to 
Evelyn,  as  she  addressed  Captain  Ferrers: 

"She  is  truly  a  most  lovely  and  charming  girl." 
The  young  man  so  addressed  felt  the  warm  color 
rise  to  his  face,  and  there  was  a  light  in  his  eyes  at 
that  meed  of  praise,  which  Lady  Bellomont  saw  with 
amusement,  not  untinged  with  pique.  For  it  was 
not  usual  for  the  men  in  her  immediate  environment 
to  find  other  interests  than  herself.  In  her  yoimger 
days  she  had  been  accustomed  to  reign  as  a  queen 
paramount  in  her  partictdar  coterie — one  of  the  gayest 
and,  it  is  whispered,  most  riotous  in  London.  AJFter 
a  brief  glance  at  the  subject  of  the  remark,  to  whom 
he  vouchsafed  the  curtest  of  salutes,  Lord  Bello- 
mont turned  in  the  opposite  direction: 


11 


AN  ENEMY  DECLARES  HIMSELF    153 

'■Captain  WiUiams  does  insist,"  Her  Ladyshio 
contmued.  m  a  whisper,  "that  this  MistressfiS 
^^'i^^,  ">"*  *  naughty  little  Papist."  ^ 

f3*n'^  ^^^  "^^'"^y  ^™™  Captain  Ferrers' 
blow.    For  he  had  been  totally  unaware  of  the  sus 

Sr?JJ«.*'*l!"**^  ^  '^^  '"'"'^  °^  Ws  fellow  s^ld^ 
by  that  chance  remark  of  PoUy  Van  Cortlandfs 

H^«W«f  had  convmced  him  that  this  imputation 
was  true  but  it  was  h.rd  to  conjecture  how  S 
^'i'^''"'?  ^^P**^"  WilUams  faiew,  and  whThe 
had  been  so  imprudent,  or  so  malicious,  as  to  convey 
his  knowledge  to  a  quarter  where  it  was  likely  to  l^ 
dangerous.  j  vv^  u« 

"Your  ExceUency,"  he  said  hotly,  "may  well  defv 
Captam  Williams  to  bring  any  prciof  "  ^ 

^  Lady  Bellomont  looked  steadily  at  him  for  a  mo- 

"Were  it  even  so,"  she  said  at  last,  "we  shaU  do 
what  IS  possible  to  protect  her." 

t^,i^™!E**^T^i^?*"'*  ^  8'a"<»  of  gratitude  at 
thejpeaker.  Lord  BeUomont,  turning  quickly,  in- 
quired as  to  the  subject  of  their  discour^.       ^ 

said!^udSslf^«   ^'""*   ^'^'^•"   -y   ^y 

"If  the  orders  I  have  given  be  obeyed,"  said  His 

Excellency,  with  a  frown,  "there  shall  not  be  in 

a^l  tlus  colony,  nor  m  His  Majesty's  adjacent  prov- 

mce  a  single  adherent  of  the  Romish  superstitions 

...  Pfsons  are  a  menace  to  the  state." 

And  IS  their  number  so  considerable?"  inquired 

my  Lady  with  malice.  h^^ 

But  Captain  Ferrers  knew  that  she  spoke  thus. 

rather  m  opposition  to  my  Lord  than  from  any 


,!^> 


154    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

special  sympathy  with  the  class  of  people  who,  in  the 
mad  excitement  following  the  accession  of  King 
William,  were  persecuted  everywhere  in  the  Brit- 
ish dominions  and  everywhere  reviled.  The  Prot- 
estant Succession  was  the  fetish  of  the  hour,  to 
which  all  were  ready  to  bow  down,  and  no  one  could 
safely  declare  himself  a  professor  of  the  ancient 
faith  by  which  England  had  been  raised  to  her  high- 
est glory. 

To  my  Lady's  query  His  Excellency  replied  testily : 

"The  proportion  of  these  Papists  may  be  small, 
but  they  are  a  pestilent  people  whom  we  must  root 
out  lest  they  conspire  to  our  detriment  with  the 
French  of  Canada." 

"In  my  belief  that  is  a  chimera,"  declared  Lady 
Bellomont. 

"What  is  a  chimera?"  said  my  Lord.  "The 
Papists  or  the  French  of  Canada?" 

"I  but  mean  their  connection  with  each  other," 
answered  Her  Ladyship.  "Men  have  assured  me 
that  none  was  more  zealous  against  those  same 
French  and  all  other  enemies  of  the  province  than 
the  present  Earl  of  Limerick,  once  Governor  Don- 
gan." 

"Women,"  cried  His  Excellency  sternly,  "should 
most  fitly  busy  themselves  with  their  fripperies, 
leaving  the  affairs  of  state  to  men." 

"Mayhap,  we  might  sometimes  make  a  better 
handling  of  them,"  said  Her  Ladyship,  but  in  a  lower 
voice  and  with  a  smile  at  Captain  Ferrers,  who  had 
naturally  taken  no  part  in  the  discussion. 

Meanwhile  Evelyn  de  Lacey  stood  watching  the 
state  carriage  till  it  had  disappeared  in  the  distance. 
She  felt  the  more  gratified  at  the  pretty  compli- 
ment from  Lady  Bellomont  inasmuch  as  it  had  been 


-|{s 


AN  ENEMY  DECLARES  HIMSELF    155 

addressed  to  Captain  Ferren,  in  whom  she  already 
felt  something  more  than  an  ordinary  interest. 
As  she  was  turning  to  pursue  her  way,  ^e  heard  a 
voice  at  her  elbow  saying: 

"In  what  direction  goes  the  fairest  lady  in  Man- 
hattan?" 

Evelyn,  turning,  saw  beside  her  C.v.tLic  ^  .o-^er 
Williams,  bowing  low  with  plu-n.  d  '•  ..t  if.  h  ui » 
Instantly  her  face,  which  had  K.-^  sof^Mih  .srriilir.,- 
interest,  grew  cold  and  distant,  -.er  rt-Lt  :n.r'il.<i 
was  to  reply  to  his  query:  "Tn  tiu'ce  .inrMi.r  r^ue 
from  yours.  Captain  Williams'  Jnst' ao  r  he  merely 
bade  him  a  ceremonious  good-mom"-. ', : '  d,  everting 
her  face  from  him,  stood  slightly  asid?  tl  .t  he 
might  pass  on.  Her  whole  demeanor  w,,:,  so  irten- 
tionally  repellent  that  the  man's  pale  face  flushed 
with  annoyance.  He  winced  and  bit  his  lip  angrily. 
As  he  showed  no  signs  of  stirring,  Evelyn,  with  a 
formal  bend  of  the  head,  prepared  to  leave  him,  but 
she  had  barely  taken  a  step  when  he  overtook  her 
saying  in  low,  vehement  tones: 

"Who  has  been  at  such  pains  to  prejudice  you 
against  me?" 

"No  one,"  replied  Evelyn,  "since  I  have  scarce 
so  much  as  heard  the  mention  of  your  name." 

She  spoke  almost  disdainfully,  staying  her  steps 
with  an  abruptness  that  could  not  but  convey  her 
desire  to  be  freed  from  his  company.  But  Prober 
Williams  showed  no  disposition  to  leave  her,  and, 
with  ddiberate  insolence,  inquired : 

"So  it  is  merely  that  something  has  ruflaed  my 
lady's  temper  this  morning?" 

Evelyn  deigning  him  no  reply,  the  man  added 
m  a  tone  that  was  full  of  malignant  meaning: 

"Have  the  savages  down  yonder  been  something 


I 


ii'M'^' 


156    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

dull  this  morning?  Mayhap,  they  did  not  patter 
their  Aves  to  your  taste,  or  bend  in  adoration  to  the 
Virgin?" 

"file  blow  told.  Evdyn  felt  in  every  fibre  of  her 
being  the  cruel  consciousness  that  tiiis  man  had 
learned  her  secret,  and  so  held  her  in  his  power. 
But  she  bravely  held  her  head  high,  and  passing 
him  again,  this  time  decidedly,  she  said  coldly: 

"I  beg  that  you  will  not  detain  me  longer.  Cap- 
tain WilUuns.    I  am  in  haste." 

He  made  no  further  effort  to  delay  her,  but  said 
as  she  walked  on : 

"Disdain,  sweet  Mistress  Evelyn,  is  oftentimes  a 
costly  luxury." 

And,  with  this  implied  threat  in  her  ears,  Evelyn 
turned  a  comer  and  escaped  him. 


I* 


CHAPTER  in 


I 


GLADNESS  AND  TBARS 

EVELYN  was  undecided  as  to  whether  or  not 
she  should  conununicatt;  to  her  father  the 
anxiety  which  had  been  consuming  her  since  Prosser 
WUliams  had  so  broadly  hinted  at  his  knowledge  of 
her  religion.  She  was  aware  that  it  would  consti- 
tute an  unpardonable  crime  in  the  sight  of  Lord 
Bellomont  and  his  advisers  to  instruct  the  Indians 
in  the  tenets  of  the  Catholic  faith.  For  it  was  part  of 
the  policy  of  the  Government  to  keep  the  savages 
pagan  rather  than  permit  them  to  come  under  the 
influence  of  the  missionaries,  since  the  latter  were 
falsely  supposed  to  be  ready  to  conspire  with  the 
Canadian  French  and  to  lead  their  Indian  cate- 
chumens into  a  league  with  the  Catholics  and  abori- 
gines of  the  north. 

Her  mind  was  so  disturbed  that  she  absented  her- 
self for  many  days  from  the  Van  Cortlandt  mansion 
and  from  the  society  of  Polly,  whose  sharp  eyes 
might  have  quickly  discovered  her  pertiwbation. 
She  was  sitting  in  her  room  one  afternoon,  looking 
out  towards  the  Fort,  where  the  flag  of  William  of 
Orange  was  flying.  The  warship,  lying  at  sinchor 
in  the  Bay,  seemed  the  very  symbol  of  that  power 
which,  like  some  dreadful  dragon,  might  readi  out 
a  claw  to  seize  her.    It  was  with  very  mingled  feel- 


M 


158    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

mgs  of  pleasure  and  apprehension  that  she  heard 
Polly's  voice  calling  from  the  garden  below.  It 
would  be  so  pleasant  to  see  her  again,  and  to  revert, 
if  that  were  poscible,  to  the  happy  days  before  the 
coming  of  Lord  Bellomont,  or  at  least  before  his 
power  had  been  displayed  in  a  manner  so  adverse 
to  herself  and  her  co-religionists.  And  yet  she  was 
afraid  lest  something  in  her  bearing  or  a  chance  word 
on  her  part  should  convey  to  Polly,  and  through 
her  to  others,  any  confirmation  of  what  might  be 
ah-eady  suspected  as  to  herself  and  her  father,  and 
as  to  her  own  relations  with  the  Wilden.  Not  that 
she  distrusted  Polly  for  one  instant,  but  she  dared 
not  put  her  upon  her  guard,  or  confide  a  secret  to 
her  which,  in  the  present  circumstances,  might  prove 
perilous  even  to  the  confidant. 

The  sight  of  the  bright-faced  girl  standing  down 
there  amongst  the  flowers,  in  the  flower-sprigged 
and  much-beribboned  musUn  gown,  recalled  with  a 
sudden  thrill  that  was  half  a  pang  that  other  noonday 
when  they  had  gone  to  witness  the  arrival  of  the 
new  Governor,  and  had  first  laid  eyes  on  those  vari- 
ous personages  who  were  destined  subsequently  to 
play  such  important  rdles  in  their  own  life-drama. 
Leamng  out  of  the  window,  Evelyn  inquired  whether 
Polly  would  come  up,  or  if  she  herself  should  go 
down. 

"Dearest  friend,"  urged  the  other,  "come  down 
I  pray  you.  What  I  have  to  tell  you,  wiU  be  best 
told  m  the  garden." 

As  Evelyn  descended  the  stairs  she  reflected  with 
relief  that  the  other's  news  must  needs  be  of  a  pleas- 
ant nature,  to  judge  by  the  brightness  of  her  face 
and  her  happUy  excited  manner.  She  laid  an  arm 
atfectionately  on  PoUy's  shoulder,  and  the  two  began 


GLADNESS  AND  TEARS  ,59 

to  pace  the  familiar  flower-strewn  paths  where  since 
girlhood  they  had  exchanged  confidences  and  chatted 
over  the  various  episodes  of  Ufe  in  Manhattan. 
^^    'It  is  fun  a  week,"  began  PoUy  reproachfuUy, 

smce  I  have  seen  or  heard  from  you.  And  in  that 
tune  has  happened— oh,  I  can  scarcely  beUeve  it 
myself,  it  came  so  sudden  and  seemed  so  wonderful. 
Nor  do  I  know  whether  to  be  sad  or  joyful." 

"Your  face  decides  for  the  latter,"  commented 
Evelyn. 

"Yes,"  answered  PoUy,  though  her  face  at  the 
mstant  was  sober  enough,  "I  believe  I  am  more 
joyful  than  sad,  and  yet — " 

She  fell  to  stirring  the  syringa  bushes  near  which 
she  stood,  while  Evelyn  waited  with  a  smile  for  the 
secret  which  already  she  had  divined. 

"Do  you  remember,  Evelyn, "  said  Polly  suddenly, 
lapsing  into  that  vein  of  reminiscence  in  which  the 
former  had  been  indulging  as  she  came  down  the 
stairs,  "our  excitement  that  spring  day  when  we 
drove  with  my  grandmother  to  see  Their  Exc-ellen- 
cies  arrive?" 

Ever  so  sUght  a  sigh  escaped  her  and  she  looked 
wistfully  at  her  friend. 

"I  was  so  elated  with  the  notion  of  meeting  all 
those  strangers  who  had  come  from  overseas  to  en- 
liven our  old  Manhattan.  How  exciting  it  was' 
And  yet,  my  dearest,"  with  a  despondent  little  shake 
of  the  head,  "there  was  no  use  entering  the  lists, 
and  I  might  have  known  it  at  once.  To  those  men 
of  His  Excellency's  Household  and  to  the  officers 
of  the  regiment,  save  for  a  few  subalterns,  I  have  been 
as  nothing,  while  you — " 

"Oh,  aiy  dear,"  cried  Evelyn,  "why  will  you  talk 
sucn  nonsense!" 


I 


*.*^^n»  ...'*,  ^■*.3 


I'M 


i6o    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

"But  nonsense  that  is  true,"  declared  Polly, 
nodding  in  support  of  her  words.  There  was  a 
silence  in  the  garden  as  if  all  the  flowers  were  lis- 
tening for  the  confidence  about  to  be  made. 

"So  I  gave  up  all  hope  of  the  new-comers,"  went 
on  Polly,  "and  consoled  myself  with  the  thought 
that  our  old  friends  are  best.  Henricus  has  always 
wanted  it,  since  we  played  together  in  our  Company; 
and  a  day  or  two  ago  he  threatened  that,  if  I  would 
not  have  him,  he  would  go  away  overseas.  I  did 
not  precisely  want  him  to  go,  so — in  short,  dear,  I 
am  going  to  be  nmrried." 

She  finished  almost  shamefacedly.  Evelyn  gave  a 
cry  as  though  it  was  something  sad  and  lamentable 
that  the  other  had  confided  to  her. 

"Eat  Polly,"  she  protested  involimtarily,  "you 
are  so  young,  and  you  have  so  many  to  choose 
from." 

"But  at  least  you  will  own  that  my  choice  has 
been  good,"  she  insisted,  "and  that  my  Henricus 
is  the  dearest  of  them  all — except  your  Pieter. 
Once  I  was  very  fond  of  Pieter,  cousin  though  he 
was,  but  that  is  over  long  ago." 

She  plucked  absently  at  the  leaves  of  a  syringa 
bush,  and,  picking  them  to  pieces,  strewed  the  pwth 
before  her  as  she  concluded  ratlier  dreamily: 

"So  I  am  to  be  married  soon,  and  we  shall  have 
as  great  a  wedding  as  ever  was  seen  in  New  Am- 
sterdam, and  you  will  be  first  of  the  bridesmaids." 

But,  even  as  she  announced  this  intended  festivity 
w^th  all  her  wonted  gaiety,  her  voice  suddenly  hn'oke 
and,  turning  aside,  she  wept  operly  and  unre- 
strainedly. The  tears  gathered  in  Evelyn's  eyes  as 
well  and  rolled  down  her  cheeks,  and  thus  it  was  a 
strange  sig^-*^  to  see  the  two  girls  still  standi*  j<  b^- 


GLADNESS  AND  TEARS  161 

side  the  syringa  bush*^  and  c^ebrating  with  tears 
this  news  that  should  have  been  so  joyful. 

"I  should  be  jflad,"  aatd  Evelyn  at  last,  "yet  I 
feel  as  if  my  heart  would  break." 

"And  aM«e  is  broken,"  sobbed  Polly,  "only  I 
suppose  I  nmm.  marry  someone." 

"Yes,"_  assented  Evelyn,  "you  must  many  some- 
time. It's  the  common  doom.  But  it  can  never  be 
quite  the  same  between  us  two,  and  no  one,  Polly, 
can  take  yoiu-  place." 

Polly  for  only  reply  wept  still  harder.  Then 
Evelyn  roused  herself. 

"How  selfish  and  how  ridiculous  I  am!"  declared 
she.  "Your  betrothal  will  please  most  people,  and 
your  best  friend  should  surely  be  joyful." 

But  Evelyn  was  not  joyful,  for  this  man  whom 
Polly  was  about  to  marry  had  never  seemed  to  her 
worthy  of  such  a  wife.  He  was  narrow  and  puri- 
tanical and,  despite  his  family  connections  and  tra- 
ditions, had  identified  himself  with  the  Leislerian 
faction.  She  suspected,  moreover,  that  with  Polly 
there  was  very  Uttle  love  in  the  matter.  She  had 
consented  to  marry  Henricus  Laurens  from  sheer 
weariness  at  his  pertinacity;  perhaps,  too,  from  some 
little  sense  of  pique  at  her  failure  to  succeed  with 
those  more  brilliant  new-comers,  and  finally  be- 
cause such  a  match  would  be  advantageous,  and  the 
wealth  and  social  position  of  the  young  man  would 
establish  Polly  amongst  the  leading  young  matrons 
of  Manhattan. 

To  Evelyn  it  seemed  scarcely  possible  that  the 
temperament  of  the  prospective  bridegroom,  which 
she  divined  to  be  both  hard  and  cold,  would  har- 
monize with  that  of  Polly.  The  two  were  funda- 
mentally different,  with  a  difference  that  could  not 


*( 


I 


i'    . 


w  ■ 


i6z     GERALD  ot  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

be  bridged  over,  and  which,  in  the  estimation  of 
this  keen  observer,  promised  but  little  happiness 
for  a  girl  of  Polly's  training  and  antecedents.   Warm- 
hearted, affectionate,  and  with  a  nature  that  turned 
as  if  instinctively  to  what  was  bright,  she  had  been 
the  very  idol  of  her  grandmother  ever  since  that 
lady  had  adopted  her  out  of  a  household  of  many 
sisters  and  brothers  and  urought  her  up  as  her  own. 
Evelyn  well  knew,  however,  that  this  betrothal, 
which  was  to  be  duly  signed  and  sealed  in  the    res- 
ence  of  numerous  relatives  of  both  parties  and  some 
intimate  friends,  was  a  serious  matter.    Once  Polly 
had  given  her  word,  she  would  never  recede  from 
the  position  in  which  she  had  placed  herself,  and  it 
would  be  worse  than  useless  for  her  friend  to  point 
aut  those  shoals  and  quicksands  which  she  foresaw 
must  lie  ahead  of  her.    So,  impatiently  wiping  away 
the  tears  which  would  gather  in  her  eyes,  and  which 
were  not  entirely,  as  Polly  supposed,  for  the  loss 
of  her  girlhood's  friend,  Evelyn  took  the  most  ef- 
fectual method  of  cheering  Polly  by  causing  her  to 
talk  of  the  preparations  that  would  soon  be  under 
way,  and  the  festivities  that  would  accompany  the 
marriage. 

"And  Henricus  will  have  the  wedding  follow  very 
speedily  upon  the  betrothal,"  Polly  informed  her, 
and  Eveljm  thought  she  spoke  somewhat  ruefully. 
"Perhaps  he  is  afraid  I  shall  nm  away  from  him," 
she  added  with  an  effort  at  a  laugh.  Then  looking, 
not  at  Evelyn,  but  away  over  the  garden:  "And 
since  I  have  given  my  promise  I  do  not  seem  able 
to  oppose  him  in  anything.  I  feel  as  though  he  had 
bewitched  me." 

Though  Evelyn  did  not  comjnent  on  this  informa- 
tion, it  in  no  way  surprised  her.    Her  quick  insight 


GLADNESS  AND  TEARS 


163 


had  made  her  aware  that  such  would  be  always  the 
case  with  PoUy.  Her  influence  over  the  man  would 
cease  with  her  consent  to  the  marriage.  And,  that 
marriage  once  an  accomplished  fact,  she  who  had 
been  a  power  and  a  force  amongst  her  young  associ- 
ates would  become  and  remain  to  the  end  of  the 
chapter  merely  the  wife  of  Henricus  Laurens. 

Polly,  who  was  wonderfully  brightened  by  the 
(^sc^ssion  of  the  wedding  gaieties  and  all  the  pretty 
clothes  which  were  in  course  of  preparation,  said 
suddenly: 

"And  you  must  marry,  too,  Evelyn.  Oh,  if  you 
would  but  deade  to  become  the  wife  of  Pieter,  that 
dear  Pieter  who  is  so  splendid  a  man.  we  could  be 
maxned  on  the  same  day,  dear,  and  from  our  house'" 
ThCTe  was  a  look  on  Evelyn's  face  that  chiUed 
the  other  s  enthusiasm;  it  was  so  aloof,  so  mournful. 
^^  I  do  not  think  I  shall  ever  maTy,"  she  answered 
at  least  not  for  very  long.  And  I  fear  much  it 
can  never  be  Pieter,  although  I  love  him  dearly  in 
quite  another  way." 

Polly  wondered  if  Evelyn's  aspirations  had  soared 
higher,  but  that,  as  she  instinctively  felt,  was  not  a 
subject  for  discussion. 

"Happiness  does  not  come  my  way,"  declared 
Evdyn  though  I  have  had  pleasure  and  gaiety 
m  abundance,  and  you  well  know  I  have  enjoyed  it  " 
While  they  stood  thus,  forming  a  lovely  picture, 
Captain  Ferrers  came  up  the  street  with  his  quick,' 
alert  gait.  The  look  with  which  he  accompanied  the 
action  of  taking  off  his  hat  to  Evelyn,  was  quit 
unmistakable  to  the  observer.  Polly  noticed  too  the 
slight  tremor  that  passed  over  her  friend,  and  the 
look  of  interest  and  excitement  that  came  suddenly 
mto  her  face. 


1^ 


I 


m 


164    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

"If  that  be  he,"  reflected  Polly  sagely,  "such  a 
passion  woukl  be  hopeless,  even  though  he  is  plainly 
infatuated.  And  why  must  she  let  her  thoughts 
stray  from  all  those  she  has  known  in  these  colonics 
and  who  have  so  much  admired  her,  to  these  men  of 
another  world,  who  perchance  will  go  away  and  for- 
get her?  Though  no  king,"  she  added,  in  her  loyal 
enthusiasm,  "were  too  gajd  for  Evelyn." 

"Mayhap,  if  I  had  nnt  been  here,"  she  said,  with 
a  gaiety  tluit  was  a  t-  'X'  .orced,  "Captain  Ferrers 
might  have  come  in  'x  j^ay  his  respects." 

"No,"  said  Evelyi.,  "though  often  enough  he 
passes  the  door." 

"To  admire — the  garden?"  laughed  Polly. 

"Sometimes  he  has  stopped  for  a  word,"  remarked 
Evelyn,  "but  I  have  never  asked  him  to  enter  the 
house." 

She  did  not  say  what  her  reasons  were,  but  she 
now  more  than  ever  held  aloof  from  the  young  man, 
since  the  nev/  provisions  of  the  law  m^t  at  any 
time,  if  it  had  not  already  done  so,  place  her  father 
and  herself  under  the  ban.  She  clearly  perceived 
that,  under  such  circiunstances,  it  was  not  fitting 
that  a  member  of  His  Excellency's  Household  should 
be  a  visitor  to  their  dwelling. 

"Ctti,  life,  life!"  she  excl^med  suddenly.  "What 
a  puzzle!  What  a  tangled  web  it  is!  I  make  no 
doubt  that  for  me  it  will  grow  'larder.  I  am  intended 
to  walk  ia  the  shadows,  Polly,  as  you  are  in  the 
light." 

With  a  swift,  impetuous  gesture,  she  threw  her 
arms  around  her  friend's  neck  and  kissed  her. 

"How  I  shall  miss  you,"  she  cried,  "the  friend 
vibocp.  I  love  above  all  others!  How  glad  I  am  that 
your  future  at  least  is  safe  and  secure!" 


i 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  PAST  IS  INVOKBD 

POLLY  VAN  CORTLANDT  had  been  right  in 
her  surmisf  that,  but  for  her  presence,  Captain 
Ferrers  would  have  entered  the  garden.  It  had 
been  his  intention  to  have  a  talk  with  Mr.  de  Lacey 
and  at  any  rate  to  put  him  on  his  guard.  For,  though 
he  was  unaware  of  what  Captain  Prosser  Williams 
had  said  to  Eveljm,  thereby  showing  a  knowledge 
of  her  relations  with  the  Indians,  a  conversation  had 
taken  place  upon  the  previous  evening  between  the 
two  officers  which  had  determined  Ferrers  upon  an 
immediate  course  of  action. 

Tl»  two  men  had  been  smoking  together  on  the 
roof  of  the  Governor's  dwelling — that  same  White- 
hall which  had  been  built  by  Governor  Stuyvesant 
many  years  before  when  the  town  of  New  Amster- 
dam was  still  in  its  infancy.  The  closed-in  space 
upon  the  roof  was  a  favorite  lounging-place,  especially 
for  the  men  of  the  Household,  and  it  chanced  upon 
that  occasion  that  these  two,  who  were  so  vmcon- 
genial,  were  left  alone  together.  Though  they  were 
constantly  being  brought  into  contact,  since  they  of 
all  the  others  mingled  most  freely  with  the  towns- 
people, there  was  but  little  intimacy  between  them. 
They  usually  avoided  anything  like  confidential 
intercourse,  and  the  silence  between  them  remained 


J;|- 


i66    GERALD  db  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

for  some  time  unbroken  till  Prosser  Williams  said 
abruptly: 

"Have  you  any  recollection,  Ferrers,  of  having 
seen  that  traitor  and  knave,  de  Lacey,  before?" 

"I  did  not  know,"  replied  the  other,  trying  to 
speak  carelessly,  though  he  was  instantly  on  the 
alert,  "that  there  was  a  traitor  or  knave  named 
de  Lacey." 

"We  may  differ  as  to  terms,"  responded  Captain 
Williams,  "but  probably  you  know  full  well  to  whom 
I  refer.  If  not,"  he  added  presently,  with  a  scarcely 
perceptible  sneer,  "I  may  refresh  your  memory  by 
declaring  that  he  is  the  father  of  Mistress  Evelyn 
de  Lacey." 

"Ah,  indeed,"  said  Captain  Ferrers,  and  his  com- 
panion, striving  hard  to  see  his  face  in  the  light 
that  was  growing  dim,  continued: 

"Indeed,  I  may  have  occasion  to  refresh  your 
memory  on  other  points  as  well.  But  one  will  suf- 
fice." 

"You  are  very  kind,"  Ferrers  answered  with  a 
certain  grim  civility.  He  was  holding  himself  well 
in  check. 

"I  asked  you,"  went  on  the  other,  "if  you  had  a 
remembrance  of  that  man.  I  will  tell  you  at  once 
that  I  have  a  very  decided  one,  though  I  could  not 
recall  it  to  mind  on  that  first  occasion  when  to- 
gether we  saw,  standing  with  Mistress  de  Lacey 
and  her  friend,  the  tall  man  whom  we  both  remem- 
bered." 

He  waited,  but  Ferrers  made  no  attempt  to  assist 
him  conversationally,  and  he  presently  resumed  his 
narrative: 

"The  occurrence  to  which  I  refer  did  not  take 
place  in  these  Colonies.    It  was  in  London  and  on 


THE  PAST  IS  INVOKED  ,67 

the  occasion  of  the  enthronement  of  KinR  William 
whom  may  God  save!"  "*»"•. 

Ferrers  bent  his  head  as  in  duty  bound,  and  the 
.  ,',S?"®^*"***^  "*"**"  proceeded  with  his  story 
There  was  a  tumult,  and  a  man  was  handled 
'^^^%°y  t'le  crowd  for  refusing  to  cry  'God  save 
King  Willjam.'  There  were  other  circumstances  to 
which  I  need  not  refer,  but  I  knew  him  then,  and 
1  know  him  now  as  a  pestilent  disturber.  Having 
been  m  one  of  King  James"  regiments,  he  was  forced 
to  rettfe  because  of  a  wound.  But  to  the  last  he 
made  himself  conspicuous.  To  the  last  he  rendered 
such  service  as  he  might,  in  public  or  private,  to 
the  Papist  king." 

There  was  a  maUgnant  fire  in  his  eyes,  and  a  note 
of  savage  triumph  in  his  voice,  which  caused  Captain 
Ferrers  to  tremble  for  the  fate  of  Mr.  de  Lacey  and 
his  daughter.  But.  preserving  a  cool  demeanor,  he 
attempted  to  rally  the  other. 

•j^?."  j*Y^'  '"  ^^^^'  ^  wondrous  memory,"  he 
said,  and  I  thank  you  for  having  given,  in  words 
so  few  and  concise,  a  history  which  is  common,  we 
™V.^V°jr*'  *°  '"^"y  *  gallant  gentleman." 

Well,  I  had  the  satisfaction  on  that  long-distant 
day  of  raising  the  hue  and  cry  against  that  'gaUant 
gentleman.   '  * 

He  reseated  the  last  words  with  an  accent  of  bit- 
ter mockery,  but  Captain  Ferrers,  anxious  to  hear 
more,  gave  his  attention  in  silence. 

"He  contrived  to  escape  arrest,  flying  from  place 
to  place,  though  openly  declaring  in  more  than  one 
that  he  was  a  Catholic  and  acknowledged  no  King 
but  James.  It  was  discovered  that  he  would  fain 
have  followed  that  monarch  to  France  save  for  the 
wound  by  which  he  had  been  incapacitated.    Fur- 


MiCROconr  resolution  tist  cha»i 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2| 


LO   [fi^  m 
-  i^ 

1.8 


im  i  U    i  ,, 


_^  APPLIED  IIVMGE     Inc 

^B>^  1653   East   Moin   Street 

g'iiS  Rochester,   Net*   York         14609       USA 

"-^  {716i   482  -  0300  -  Phone 

^^  (716)   268  -  5999  -  Fo« 


i68    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

ther,  it  was  learned  that  he  had  long  been  under 
suspicion  as  a  pestilent  disturber  and  dangerous 
emissary  of  James.  He  fled  to  these  Colonies  where 
he  had  been  formerly  in  the  service  of  the  Papist, 
Dongan,  and  had  been  driven  forth  in  the  time  of 
that  excellent  Protestant  and  loyal  champion,  Jacob 
Leisler." 

"And  how  came  it  that  you  did  not  immediately 
recognize  him?"  inquired  Ferrers,  striving  to  main- 
tain his  calmness. 

"For  the  reason  that  I  had  seen  him  but  once,  on 
that  memorable  occasion  in  London." 

Ferrers  laughed  as  he  said:  "You  would  make  an 
excellent — er — I  mean  to  say  that  you  should  have 
been  detailed  for  secret  service." 

Prosser  Williams  reddened. 

"I  have  a  nose  for  disloyalty,"  he  declared,  "and 
I  hold  it  as  certain  that  such  men  as  this  cannot 
escape  the  displeasure  of  Lord  Bellomont,  especially 
since  the  late  decree." 

"His  Excellency  scarcely  intends,  I  should  pre- 
sume," said  Ferrers,  controlling  himself  with  an 
effort,  "to  deal  with  individual  cases.  The  late  de- 
cree was  rather,  I  would  opine,  a  large  public  measiare 
to  prevent  the  spread  of  the  Romish  religion." 

Prosser  Williams'  eyes  narrowed. 

"It  can  be  made  to  fit  whomsoever  it  will,"  he 
replied  significantly,  "and  this  man  who  was  dan- 
gerous yonder  may  easily  become  dangerous  here." 

"He  seems  peaceable  enough  now,"  remarked  the 
other,  with  apparent  carelessness,  "but  such  matters 
are  scarcely  i'  my  department.  I  am  a  soldier,  and 
no  policeman.  ' 

"All  members  of  His  Excellency's  Household 
must   be   such,  if   need   demand,"   said  Williams 


THE  PAST  IS  INVOKED 


169 


sententiously,  with  a  venomous  look  at  his  com- 
panion. 

"I  hope  my  duty  will  be  something  better  fitted 
nj-^v  gentleman,  ^'  said  Ferrers  with  a  laugh,  which 
Williams  well  understood  and  which  goaded  him  to 
madness. 

He  answered  with  a  cold  and  deadly  malignity: 
Decree  or  no  decree,  this  de  Lacey  is  dangerous. 
He  must  be  watched;  if  need  be,  he  must  be  ar- 
rested. Such  an  enemy  of  the  King's  Majeity  should 
not  be  at  large.  Nor,"  he  concluded,  smiling  un- 
pleasantly, "can  he  be  shielded  by  petticoats,  how- 
ever interesting." 

Captain  Ferrers  was  grave  enough  now  and  the 
rebuke  which  he  administered  to  the  other  was 
K»thmg.  After  Ferrers  had  abruptly  left  him, 
Williams  sat  stiU  and  reflected,  while  his  eyes  wan- 
dered absently  out  over  the  Bay,  silent  and  dark 
save  for  the  stars  which,  strewn  in  the  firmament 
were  reflected  on  its  surface. 

"There  is  a  heavy  score  between  us,  Egbert 
Ferrers,  Williams  muttered.  "And,  if  I  mistake 
not,  you  will  yourself  supply  the  means  to  pay  it." 

It  was  this  conversation  that  brought  Captain 
Ferrers  to  the  cottage,  which  he,  however,  did  not 
enter  because  of  Polly  Van  Cortlandf  s  presence. 


I, 
','■1 


.i-h'' 


fl' 


i\'\ 


ill'  \i 


>>  it 


It? 


CHAPTER  V 


THE    WARNING 


WHEN  'Captain  Ferrers  paid  his  deferred  visit, 
he  was  at  once  ushered  into  Mr.  de  Lacey's 
study,  where  the  latter  sat  absorbed  in  his  books. 
It  was  early  afternoon  and  the  sunbeams,  slanting 
through  the  vine-covered  trellis  without  the  window, 
played  in  patches  on  the  floor.  Evelyn  had  gone 
out  with  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  and  Polly  to  pay 
some  visits  and  take  coffee  at  the  house  of  some 
of  their  friends.  The  elderly  ladies  brought  their 
knitting  on  these  occasions,  putting  their  heads  to- 
gether over  the  latest  gossip  of  Manhattan,  while 
the  younger  chatted  gaily,  their  chief  topic  at  pres- 
ent being  Polly's  betrothal  and  approaching  mar- 
riage. Evelyn's  father  had  been  strongly  of  opinion 
that  it  was  more  essential  than  ever  for  the  girl 
to  keep  out  amongst  the  people  and  enter  into  such 
festivities  as  the  summer  season  afforded,  and  thus 
ward  off  any  suspicion  that  might  attach  to  them 
under  the  Governor's  edict. 

To  Ferrers  it  was  a  relief  to  find  Mr.  de  Lacey 
alone.  AA^at  he  had  to  say,  he  considered,  had  best 
be  said  in  the  absence  of  Evelyn.  Gerald  de  Lacey 
received  his  visitor  with  his  usual  easy  courtesy. 
For  some  moments  the  two  men  talked  of  subjects 
of  public  interest,  concerning  either  the  old  country 


THE  WARNING 


171 


or  the  new,  but,  at  a  slight  pause  in  the  conversation, 
the  young  man  came  to  the  point  with  a  directness 
that  pleased  Gerald  de  Lacey. 

"I  trust,"  he  began  earnestly,  "that  you  will 
hold  me  to  be  neither  meddlesome  nor  intrusive  when 
I  say  that  I  have  come  hither  expressly  to  put  you 
on  your  guard." 

Though  Mr.  de  Lacey  could  not  help  being  star- 
tled, his  demeanor  was  perfectly  composed  as  he 
replied : 

"And  for  that  consideration  I  thank  you." 
"Remember,"  said  the  visitor,  "I  am  not  making 
any  inquiry  as  to  what  bearing  recent  legislation, 
once  it  comes  into  force,  may  have  upon  your  re- 
ligious belief.  Only  I  would  beg  of  you  to  exercise 
the  greatest  caution." 

He  stopped  and  looked  into  the  calm  and  still 
smiling  face  before  resuming: 

"Now  that  the  fee'^ng  against  persons  of  the 
Catholic  faith,  engeni  ,  .d  largely  by  political  strife, 
has  become  acute,  and  because  of  a  recent  occur- 
rence, I  am  convinced  that  something  more  than 
discretion  will  be  necessary.  Charges  will  be  made 
against  you,  and  in  the  present  temper  of  men's 
minds — of  those  in  high  places,  as  witnessed  by  the 
law  just  passed — those  charges  will  be  pressed  home." 
Vnd  the  nature  of  these  charges?"  Mr.  de  Lacey 
i      .ired. 

Possibly  you  may  remember,"  said  Captain 
Ferrers,  "an  occasion  a  dozen  years  ago  in  England, 
when  His  present  Majesty  was  being  acclaimed. 
There  was  a  man,  lately  an  c3Bcer  in  a  Hussar  regi- 
ment, who  created  a  disturbance  by  leaping  from  a 
car  and  waving  his  hat,  bre^ng  into  open  declara- 
tions for  King  James  and  for  the  Catholic  religion." 


I'  f 


172    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

There  was  silence.  Mr.  de  Lacey's  face,  flushing 
warmly  at  first,  paled  again.  Captain  Ferrers,  who 
seemed  to  be  studying  the  pattern  of  that  carpet 
which  had  been  brought  overseas  by  the  late  Cap- 
tain Kidd's  "Antigua"  in  the  days  when  that  sea- 
rover  was  a  peaceful  trader,  continued : 

"That  man,  though  it  may  be  opined  that  he 
was  lacking  in  worldly  prudence,  commanded  aJl 
my  admiration.  I  can  feel  even  yet  a  thrill  at  the 
gsJlant  act.  Unhappily,  though,  I  was  not  the  only 
spectator.  Others  in  that  multitude  may  have 
shared  my  sentiments,  but  probably  the  majority 
held  divergent  views.  It  chances  that  one  of  those 
latter,  who  was  foremost  in  raising  the  hue  and  cry, 
is  now  in  Manhattan.  He  professes  to  have  recog- 
nized the  malcontent,  and  such  recognition  he  wUl 
have  no  scruple  in  using  as  a  weapon  against  him. 
Under  present  corditions  that  weapon  might  prove 
fatal." 

"And  you,  sir,"  said  Mr.  de  Lacey,  in  a  voice 
full  of  emotion,  "a.e  willing  to  render  service  to 
that  imprudent  man,  simply  because  you  applauded, 
despite  yoiu-  better  judgment,  an  insensate  act?" 

There  was  a  slight  embarrassment  in  Captain 
Ferrers'  tone  and  manner  as  he  answered  frankly: 

"My  admiration  for  an  act  of  loyalty  would  in- 
deed have  been  a  sufficient  motive,  but  it  is  not  my 
only  one." 

He  saw  that  his  hearer  was  listening  with  head 
slightly  bent  forward,  and  proceeded : 

"It  is  due  to  you  to  mention  that  I  have  a  more 
than  common  interest  in  Mistress  Evelyn  de  Lacey. 
She  attracted  me  from  the  very  first  moment  of 
cur  meeting,  and,  perhaps  rashly,  I  have  permitted 
myself  to  hope — " 


THE  WARNING 


m 


But  Mr.  de  Lacey  siiook  his  head  in  dissent. 
"Do  you  not  perceive,  Captain  Ferrers,"  he  in- 
terposed, "how  detrimental  under  existing  circum- 
stances, and  in  your  present  position,  such  an  al- 
liance would  be?" 

"If  Mistress  Evelyn  will  but  deign  to  consider 
my  suit — "  the  young  man  was  beginning  impetu- 
ously. 

But  the  other  again  interrupted  him. 

"If  I  know  Evelyn,  she  will  never  consent  to  bring 
misfortune  upon  anyone,  even  though  he  be  brave 
and  chivalrous  enough  to  desire  her  favor.  You 
would  ruin  yourself  for  what  may  after  all  prove  to 
be  but  a  passing  fancy." 

"Your  daughter,"  replied  Ferrers,  with  an  emotion 
not  to  be  misunderstood,  "is  not  one  to  excite  a  pass- 
ing fancy." 

Gerald  de  Lacey  could  not  but  acquiesce  in  this 
opinion,  and  he  said: 

"If  that  be  so,  so  much  the  worse  for  you." 

Then  struck  by  a  sudden  thought,  he  added 
quickly : 

"I  trust  in  God  that  it  has  not  gone  farther 
than  yourself,  that  Eveljm — " 

His  voice  broke,  and,  though  Captain  Ferrers  felt 
an  exultant  thrill  of  joy  at  the  mere  suggestion,  he 
answered  gravely: 

"I  have  spoken  no  word." 

An  irresistible,  half -whimsical  smile  hovered  about 
Mr.  de  Lacey's  lips  as  he  inquired ; 

"Are  words  the  only  means  by  which  men  and 
maids  communicate  their  minds?" 

But  he  immediately  continued  more  gravely: 

"Besides  the  reason  I  have  mentioned,  there  are 
others  and,  in  my  opinion,  still  graver  ones  which 


r 


i 


1. 1 

h 


174    GER/LD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

must  be  taken  into  account,  but  which  wc  may  waive 
for  the  present.  Such  would  be  the  question  of  re- 
ligion. As  this  attachment  must  therefore  end  in 
uiihappiness  for  both,  I  must  trust  to  your  honor. 
Captain  Ferrers,  that  this  matter  go  no  farther." 

The  Captain  looked  him  steadily  in  the  face  an 
instant  before  he  answered  firmly: 

"I  am  afraid,  Mr.  de  Lacey,  that  I  can  give  you 
no  such  pledge." 

There  was  a  silence  between  the  two  men  as  they 
sat  regarding  each  other.  Without  the  wind  kept 
up  a  gentle  soughing  in  the  tree-tops.  Through  the 
window,  diffusing  itself  through  the  apartment,  en- 
tered from  time  to  time  a  subtle  indefinite  mingling 
of  garden  scents  from  flower-beds  where  the  sun  lay 
warm. 

"You  are  frank  at  least,"  said  Mr.  de  Lacey  after 
a  moment,  "and  I  am  helpless." 

"You  misunderstand  me  utterly,"  the  other  has- 
tened to  explain,  "if  you  believe  that  I  could  take 
advantage  of  your  situation.  My  meaning  is,  that 
I  must  be  governed  by  circumstances  as  to  any  dec- 
laration I  may  make  to  Mistre^  -  de  Lacey.  For 
these  two  years  past  we  have  ueen  meeting  fre- 
quently, and  she  has  given  me  no  sign  that  she  holds 
me  in  higher  esteem  than  any  other  of  her  acquaint- 
ances. But  matters  may  come  to  a  crisis  at  any 
moment,  and  then  I  shall  tell  her  of  this  attachment, 
which,  daily  growing  stronger,  has  created  an  almost 
intolerable  situation  for  myselif." 

Gerald  de  Lacey's  face,  frowni.  g  at  first,  gradu- 
ally relaxed  into  a  look  of  interest  and  of  sympathy. 
His  keen  perception  told  him  that,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  here  was  a  man  who  might  indeed 
prove  worthy  of  Evelyn. 


THE  WARN'NG 


I7S 


"Though  I  cannot  relinquish  hope,"  went  on 
Ferrers,  "I  am  sensible  that  for  the  present  there 
is  but  one  consideration  of  importance,  and  that  is 
your  safety  and  the  safety  of  your  daughter.  Re- 
member it  is  of  that  I  have  come  hither  to  speak." 
Mr.  de  Lacey's  usually  smooth  brow  was  wrinkled 
into  a  frown  of  perplexity,  as  he  sat  looking,  not  at 
the  speaker,  but  out  into  that  garden  which  had 
been  hitherto  the  symbol  of  peace. 

"Not  only,"  said  Captain  Ferrers,  "must  I  re- 
iterate my  warning  to  be  upon  your  guard;  but  I 
would  beg  you  to  make  those  preparations  that  may 
be  necessary,  should  flight  become  urgent." 
"Flight!"  echoed  Mr.  de  Lacey. 
"It  msy  become  imperative  at  any  minute," 
declared  Ferrers  earnestly,  "and,  when  that  moment 
comes,  I  shall  let  you  know  without  delaj'." 

In  the  pause  that  followed  Ferrers  perceived  from 
the  movement  of  his  Ups  that  he  was  prasring.  When 
he  spoke  aloud,  it  was  with  a  forced  composure 
which  somehow  reminded  the  observer  of  Evelyn. 

"It  is  of  my  daughter  I  am  thinking,"  he  ex- 
plained, "for  a  soldier's  life  has  inured  me  to  change. 
I  will  take  your  advice,  however,  and  make  what 
arrangements  may  be  necessary." 

"Matters  may  go  on  as  they  are  for  some  time," 
said  Ferrers,  "for  there  is  no  special  suspicion  of 
you  or  your  acts,  save  in  the  mind  of  one  man." 
"One  man?"  queried  Mr.  de  Lacey,  curiously. 
Ferrers   hesitated   an  instant  before  answering 
firmly: 

"Captain  Prosser  Williams.  I  mention  his  name 
that  the  warning  may  be  the  more  efficacious.  But 
there  is  Nanfan,  and  there  are  others  who  would  be 
dangerous  enemies,  if  once  they  are  informed  of  all." 


mi 


•tjk;  1 


i 


176    GERALD  DF  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

At  the  mention  of  the  name,  Prosser  Williams,  Mr. 
de  Lacey  nodded,  and  a  light  came  into  his  eyes. 
He  remembered  him  well  as  the  very  man — a 
fanatic  adherent  of  William  of  Orange — who,  on  that 
memorable  day  in  England,  had  raised  the  hue  and 
cry  of  the  mob  against  him.  And  it  was  the  recog- 
nition cf  his  pallid  face,  red  hair  and  light-blue  eyes, 
some  two  years  before  upon  the  Bowling  Green, 
that  had  occasioned  several  subsequent  days  of  un- 
easiness. As  time  passed  on,  however,  Mr.  de  Lacey 
had  hoped  either  that  Prosser  Williams,  who  was 
by  no  means  familiar  with  his  appearance,  had  failed 
to  recognize  him  or  that  he  had  decided  to  let  by- 
gones be  bygones. 

"I  shall  be  upon  my  guard,"  he  assured  the  other 
quietly,  "for  well  I  know  what  an  inveterate  foe 
Captain  Williams  can  prove.  I  have  been  living  so 
obscurely  that  I  had  trusted  public  attention  would 
have  passed  us  by." 

Captain  Ferrers  could  not  precisely  agree  with 
this  opinion.  How,  he  thought,  could  Evelyn  pos- 
sibly fail  to  attract  attention  ?  And  even  her  father 
was  not  one  to  remain  unnoticed.  He  refrained, 
however,  from  putting  his  thoughts  into  words, 
while  Mr.  de  Lacey  proceeded  meditatively : 

"If  Captain  Prosser  Williams  has  discovered  my 
identity  and  desires  to  use  that  knowledge  to  my 
detriment,  no  prudence  of  mine  can  avail." 

"That  is  true,"  the  other  assented,  "if  it  be  his 
intention  to  lay  information  against  you.  At  present 
I  do  not  know.  But  it  is  of  a  certainty  better  to 
prepare  for  flight." 

"And  my  daughter?"  asked  Mr.  de  Lacey,  with 
a  sharp  glance  at  his  adviser. 

"She  too  would  be  safer  far  from  Manhattan," 


THE  WARNING 


177 


replied  Cep'.in  Ferrers  decidedly.  "And  my  advice 
in  that  direc.  on  is  most  surely  disinterested." 
^^  "There  are  difficulties,"  objected  Mr.  de  Lacey. 
"I  should  infinitely  prefer  to  investigate  the  ground 
alone.  Persecution  is  rife  in  many  of  the  neigh- 
boiing  provinces  as  well  as  in  our  own." 

"In  the  meantime,"  suggested  Ferrers,  Rr,d  it 
must  be  owned  with  some  eagerness,  "Mistress 
Evelyn  might  in  all  safety,  I  opine,  remain  until  you 
should  l\ave  secured  a  foothold  elsewhere.  And, 
occasion  necessitating  your  departure  from  Man- 
hattan, might  ii,  not  be  announced  that  business  had 
called  you  suddenly  from  home?  Mistress  Evelyn 
might  then,  as  would  seem  most  fitting,  remain  with 
her  friend.  Madam  Van  Cortlandt,  even  after  Mis- 
tress Polly's  wedding." 

"Yes,  that  would  perhaps  be  best,"  agreed  Mr. 
de  Lacey,  with  reluctance,  "though  I  must  first 
wait  upon  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  and  inform  her 
frankly  of  all  tne  circumstances.  Should  danger 
threaten  Evel3m,  the  Van  Cortlandts  are  very  pow- 
erful." 

"And,"  interposed  Captain  Ferrers,  "there  will 
also  be  in  her  favor  the  interest  of  Lady  Bellomont, 
who  is  extraordinarily  well-disposed  towards  her. 
She  will  do  whatever  is  possible  to  protect  her." 

Even  as  he  spoke,  he  knew  her  power  to  be  limited 
— nay,  that  her  very  predilection  for  the  girl  had 
prepos  issed  Lord  Bellomont  against  her.  However, 
it  was  finally  agreed  betweer  the  two  that,  at  a 
given  signal  from  the  Captain.,  Mr.  de  Lacey  would 
leave  the  town  and  later  make  such  arrangements 
as  he  could  for  Evelyn  to  follow  him. 

"This  religious  madness,"  said  Ferrers,  risiiig  to 
take  his  departure,  "as  every  sane  man  hopes,  must 


:H 


'!  ' 


il.l 


il 


'i  1 


178    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

soon  subside,  and  you  will  then  be  free  to  return 
once  more  to  this  Colony." 

"May  God  so  will  it  I  answered  Gerald  de  Lacey. 
"In  the  meantime  I  shall  await  your  signal." 

"I  will  not  conceal  from  you,"  said  Ferrers,  as  he 
returned  the  other's  cordial  farewell  handshake, 
"that  it  mav  come  at  any  moment." 


CHAPTER  VI 

A  STAUNCH   FRIEND 

i^D  come  it  did,  a  hurried  message,  when  the 
*»  purple  shadows  of  night  vere  creeping  over 
Manhattan,  and  the  stars,  like  tiny  points  of  silver, 
pierced  the  darkenin  ■  sky.  It  was  a  word  merely, 
but  Gerald  de  Lace    tnew  its  import. 

Before  that  sign.  ^  had  reached  him,  which  he 
knew  was  very  certain  to  come,  Mr.  de  Lacey  had 
made  all  necessary  arrangements,  even  to  the  pack- 
ing of  his  clothes.  Also,  he  had  v  ted  upon  Madam 
Van  Cortlandt  to  inform  her  oi  le  danget  which 
threatened  and  the  possible  inconvenience  to  herseU 
that  might  result  from  giving  shelter  to  Evelyn.  He 
felt  that  he  could  not  allow  his  daughter  to  accept 
that  hospitality,  while  her  prospective  hostess  was  in 
ignorance  of  the  charges  that  might  be  formulated 
against  her,  either  directly  as  being  herself  a  Catholic 
and  having  striven  to  spread  the  Catholic  faith 
amongst  the  savages,  or  indirectly  as  her  father's 
daughter. 

Madam  Van  Cortlandt  was  seated  upon  the  stoepe 
before  the  door,  knitting  in  hand.  She  had  concluded 
for  that  morning  her  inspection  of  the  household 
and  those  other  matutinal  affairs  which  she  never 
delegated  to  anyone.  She  would  not  suffer  the  re'"ns 
of  domestic  government  to  pass  even  into  the  hands 


Is      ( ;' 


180    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

of  the  clever  and  capable  Polly.  She  was  thus  always 
a  busy  woman  in  spite  of  the  numerous  slaves,  of 
whom  some  had  been  brought  over  from  Africa 
in  the  ship,  "The  Good  Prophet,"  and  sold  in  the 
slave-market  at  the  foot  of  Wall  Street,  while  others 
were  native  of  the  soil,  and  had  been  so  long  in  the 
service  of  the  Van  Cortlandts  that  they  considered 
themselves  part  of  the  family. 

The  old  lady  was  somewhat  surprised  to  see  Mr. 
de  Lacey  coming  towards  her.  She  had  known  him 
for  a  number  of  years,  but  never  with  anything  ap- 
proaching intimacy,  his  visits  to  her  house  having 
been  few  and  far  between.  As  he  advanced,  raising 
his  hat  in  salute  and  bowing  low,  slie  was  struck  by 
something  new  in  his  aspect.  The  fine  face  framed 
in  the  curled  and  silver-streaked  locks,  worn  after 
the  fashion  of  the  times  on  the  shoulders,  and  the 
till  figure  set  off  by  the  cinnamon-colored  surtout 
and  buff  waistcoat  which  opened  slightly  to  show  the 
white  ruffled  shirt  of  fine  Holland  linen,  were  im- 
pressive in  the  extreme.  The  countenance  wore  a 
new  expression,  in  which  were  blended  anxiety,  re- 
solve and  sadness.  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  noted 
the  change  in  this  man,  whose  whole  appearance 
and  personality  she  had  always  admired.  She  liked 
all  that  she  knew  of  him,  holding  him  in  a  regard 
quite  apart  from  the  consideration  he  commanded 
as  the  father  of  her  favorite  Evelyn. 

The  two  chatted  at  first  of  matters  in  general, 
while  the  absent  gaze  of  the  visitor  noted  mechani- 
cally the  details  of  the  entrance  door  which  now  stood 
open.  He  observed  its  division  into  two  parts,  the 
upper  part  of  which  was  perforated  by  glass  buU's- 
eyes,  the  spoon-shaped  latch  of  solid  brass  and  the 
massive  handle,  as  though  those  details  had  some 


A  STAUNCH  FRIEND 


i8i 


occult  connection  with  the  subject  which  engrossed 
his  mind.  He  made  complimentary  references  to 
the  happy  event  which  was  soon  to  transform  the 
sprightly  Polly  into  a  dignified  matron.  The  old 
lady  on  her  part  became  reminiscent  on  the  subject 
of  her  own  betrothal  and  marriage,  when  customs 
were  simpler  and  the  principal  door  of  the  house 
was  thrown  open  only  when  a  bride  went  forth  or 
when  death  visited  the  dwelling.*  She  talked  in  in- 
teresting fashion  of  the  Dutch  dominies,  who,  re- 
ligion apart,  were  a  social  power  in  the  colony. 

"You  have  heard,  I  make  no  doubt,  Mr.  de 
Lacey,"  she  said,  "that  old  saying  current  amongst 
us  Dutch:    'As  the  dominie  sneezes,  so  sneeze  we.'" 

And  she  expatiated  upon  the  tolerance  which, 
as  a  class,  those  Hollanders  had  shown  to  all 
men.  This  subject  of  tolerance  led  naturally  to 
that  upon  which  Mr.  de  Lacey  was  most  anxious  to 
speak.  In  as  few  words  as  possible  he  told  of  the 
danger  which  threatened  him,  not  so  much  through 
the  provisions  of  the  new  decree  against  Catholics, 
as  by  reason  of  the  intolerance  of  which  it  was  the 
manifestation,  and  in  view  of  his  antecedents  which 
were  known  to  a  member  of  the  Governor's  House- 
hold who  seemed  likely  to  prove  inimical.  He  in- 
formed her  of  the  warning  which  had  been  given 
him  by  Captain  Ferrers,  and  of  the  opinion  of  the 
latter,  in  which  he  fvilly  concurred,  that  he  should 
leave  the  Colony  of  New  York  for  a  term  at  least. 

Madam  Van  Cortlandt  hstened,  her  wise,  Idndly 
eyes  upon  the  speaker's  face.  She  nodded  at  inter- 
vals, so  that  the  lace  of  her  cap  flapped  about  her 
ears,  her  knitting-needles  meanwhile  lying  idle  in 
her  lap.  When  he  had  finished,  the  old  lady  ex- 
>  Tbe  custom  wis  Imovm  »s  th«  "  threshold  covenant," 


til  H:| 


k  .if 


i" 


li: 


182    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

pressed  her  full  agreement  with  the  advice  given  by 
Captain  Ferrers,  and  suggested  of  her  own  accord 
that  Evelyn  should  remain  behind  as  her  guest  until 
the  fugitive  had  found  a  refuge,  or  indeed  indefinitely. 
For,  as  she  said,  her  affection  for  Evelyn  was  nearly 
as  great  as  for  her  own  granddaughter,  and,  in  the 
loneliness  following  upon  Polly's  departure,  the  com- 
pany of  the  girl  would  be  a  real  boon  to  her.  Though 
Gerald  de  Lacey  represented  to  her  all  the  possible 
risks  and  inconveniences  to  which  the  harboring  of 
Evel3m  might  expose  her,  the  old  lady  stoutly  de- 
clared that  such  considerations  would  not  weigh 
with  her  for  an  instant. 

"We  Van  Cortlandts,"  she  exclaimed,  with  some 
pride,  "should  have  influence  enough  to  protect 
her  even  against  this  Governor  whom  they  have 
sent  out  here  to  interfere  with  people's  freedom. 
And  a  grievous  matter  it  is,"  she  added,  with  honest 
indignation,  "that  such  things  should  be  in  these 
colonies,  where  before  the  days  of  Leisler  intolerance 
was  unknown." 

She  threw  out  a  suggestion  or  two  on  her  own 
account.  One  was  that  Evelsm  should  be  left  to 
the  last  moment  in  ignorance  of  her  father's  proposed 
departure.  She  could  thus  all  the  more  easily  and 
naturally  take  her  part  in  the  final  preparations  for 
the  wedding  and  enact  her  rdle  of  bridesmaid.  An- 
other suggestion  was  that  Mr.  de  Lacey's  departure 
should  take  place  upon  the  very  day  of  the  wedding, 
which  was  now  close  at  hand.  He  could  even  ap- 
pear for  a  few  moments  amongst  the  guests,  and  then 
slip  away  whilst  the  attention  of  the  town  was  fixed 
upon  that  event  of  social  importance. 

When  Mr.  de  Lacey  rose  to  take  his  leave,  all  the 
details  of  the  plan  had  been  pieced  out  between  the 


fi. 


A  STAUNCH  FRIEND 


183 


two,  and,  with  a  warm  hand-clasp,  Madam  Van 
Cortlandt  assured  him  that  he  and  his  daughter 
were  certain  of  having  in  her  a  staunch  friend.    She 
stood  looking  after  him  as  he  went,  deeply  medi- 
tatmg.    For  she  was  much  more  alive  to  the  com- 
plexities of  the  situation  than  she  had  chosen  to  let 
appear.    If  once  the  "dogs  of  war"  were  let  loose 
agamst  the  de  Laceys  by  an  actively  hostile  influ- 
ence, emanating  from  the  Governor's  Household 
It  would  be  difficult  indeed  to  protect  them,  and  an 
attempt  to  do  so  might  be  the  cause  of  vexatious 
proceedmgs  for  those  who  had  essayed  the  rdle  of 
protectors.    For,  as  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  reflected, 
Mr.  de  Lacey's  poUtical  past— above  all,  his  staunch 
adherence  to  the  Catholic  faith  and  his  intimacy 
with  members  of  the  clergy— would  make  of  him  a 
very  proper  subject  for  a  terrorizing  example  to  his 
fellow-Romanists,  adherents  of  the  "Popish  super- 
stition "  and  enemies  to  the  King's  Majesty.    Evelyn 
too  had,  without  doubt,  rendered  herself  amenable 
to  those  persecuting  laws  by  her  labors  amongst  the 
savages  and  her  efforts  to  keep  alive  in  them  the 
spark  which  the  missionaries  had  kindled.    Though 
the  Van  Cortlandts  were  powerful,  the  old  lady 
mused,  they  might  not  be  sufficiently  so  to  protect 
ttiose  notable  enemies  of  the  Protestant  supremacy. 
This  had  been  shown  in  the  evil  days  of  Jacob  Leisler, 
when  members  of  the  family  had  suffered  severely. 
And  it  was  the  Leislerian  faction  that  was  now  iii 
favor  with  Lord  Bellomont  and  his  fanatical  sup- 
porters. 

Thus  pondered  the  old  lady,  her  knitting  forgotten 
as  she  watched  with  absent  eyes  the  white  butter- 
flies flitting  about  and  heard  the  drowsy  drone  of  the 
insects,  announcing  a  continuance  of  the  heat.    She 


fir 

i  5    i     !. 

1% 

tf 


■■'.4, 


184    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

decided  amongst  other  things  that  Polly  must  be 
told  nothing  at  all  of  the  matter.  For  loyal-hearted 
and  devoted  to  Evelyn  as  she  knew  her  to  be,  it 
was  not  so  easy  to  be  sure  of  her  prospective  husband. 
Madsm  Van  Cortlandt  had  uneasy  misgivings  on 
the  score  of  that  gentleman;  in  fact,  she  alone  of  all 
the  relatives  had  been  dissatisfied  with  Polly's 
choice.  For,  whatever  might  be  his  advantages  of 
wealth  and  position,  the  keen  old  eyes  read  the  man 
as  a  narrow-minded  bigot,  a  very  fanatic  in  his 
hatred  of  Popery.  And  a  certain  jealousy  of  Polly's 
partiality  for  Evelyn  had  been  plain  from  the  first, 
and  had  been  displayed  in  the  antagonistic  attitude 
he  assumed  towards  the  girl.  Therefore,  in  Madam's 
mind  it  was  settled  that  Polly  should  be  kept  out 
of  the  secret,  at  least  until  that  time  when  Evelyn 
should  have  rejoined  her  father.  Mr.  de  Lacey's 
absence,  when  discovered,  would  be  explained  by 
the  assigned  reason  of  pressing  business,  which  would 
leave  it  to  be  supposed  that  it  was  in  the  Barbadoes 
that  he  nad  interests. 

The  huge  clock  in  the  hall  sounded  the  hour  of 
noon  and  dinner  for  all  the  burg  of  Manhattan, 
immediately  afterwards,  the  silver  gong  summoned 
Madam  to  her  place  at  the  table.  Behind  her  chair 
stood  old  Peter,  with  a  fan  in  his  hand  to  drive  away 
the  flies.  Polly  and  Evelyn  entered  the  room  a 
second  or  two  later,  conversing  as  they  came  of  sor  .e 
late  items  of  fashionable  news  and  of  the  bridesmaid 
gowns  and  the  bridal  finer-  just  as  a  little  more  than 
two  years  before  they  had  gossiped  about  the  ar- 
rival of  the  new  Governor. 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE    SEPARATION 

EVELYN  was  kept  in  ignorance  of  her  father's 
intention  to  leave  the  colony  so  that  she  could 
the  more  readily  permit  herself  to  become  absorbed 
in  Polly's  marriage  preparations.  Active  culinary 
work  hpd  been  in  progress  for  days  before,  and  in 
this  the  two  girls  had  their  share  under  the  imme- 
diate direction  of  Madam  Van  Cortlandt.  Cer- 
tain rich  confections  and  a  variety  of  dainty  dishes 
were  added  to  those  substantial  viands  which  the 
veteran  negro  cook,  Maria,  surpassed  herself  in 
preparing.  Forgetting  all  troubles  and  suffering, 
and  permitting  that  shadow  of  doubt  and  suspense 
which  hung  over  her  to  be  dispelled  by  the  bright- 
ness of  the  moment,  Evelyn  entered  light-heartedly 
into  all  that  was  going  on.  In  the  large  kitchen, 
with  Its  brightly  burnished  vessels,  its  sanded  floor 
and  its  huge  fireplace,  or  in  the  adjoining  quiet  room, 
the  two  girls  spent  their  mornings,  stoning  raisinsj 
weighing  out  flour,  shelling  nuts  and  measuring 
spices  for  cakes  of  many  descriptions— rich  pound 
cakes  doughnuts,  fruit  and  honey  cake,  and  kuchen 
of  half  a  dozen  varieties.  Jellies,  creams,  custards 
and  rich  confections  of  many  sorts  were  prepared 
to  tickle  the  appetite  and  menace  the  digestion  of 
the  sturdy  burgher  folk  of  Manhattan.    The  more 


'mh 


i,.! 


N'   ■». 


i86    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

serious  labors  of  the  kitchen  were  in  charge  of  an 
augmented  staff,  under  the  leadership  of  Maria 
and  ably  directed  by  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  herself. 
This  department  undertook  the  preparation  in  vari- 
ous ways  of  tvu-keys,  wild  duck,  geese,  ham  v  Ah 
partridges,  pigeons,  and  game  pies  of  a  composite 
character.  Upstairs  in  Polly's  room  stood  the  kos, 
or  linen  chest.  It  had  been  that  of  her  grandmother, 
and  great-grandmother  before  that.  It  was  elab- 
orately carved  and  tipped  with  silver,  and  was 
now  destined  to  become  the  property  of  Polly,  since 
her  grandmother  had  bestowed  it  on  her  as  a  gift. 
It  would  be  an  article  of  furniture  both  substantial 
and  ornamental,  in  that  new  home  wherein  the 
prospective  bridegroom  was  to  install  her.  This  home 
stood  in  a  newer  and  more  fashionable  quarter  than 
that  in  which  Polly  had  grown  up,  being  situated 
at  no  very  great  distance  from  the  Fort  and  over- 
looking the  Bowling  Green. 

The  contents  of  the  chest  were  a  particular  pride 
and  pleasure  to  Polly.  The  linen  which  it  contained 
had  been  bleached  under  the  sun  of  Manhattan 
and  woven  by  the  girl's  own  hands  from  the  finest 
fJax,  grown  in  a  piece  of  ground  adjoining  the  garden. 
It  Lad  then  been  tranrformed  into  household  and 
personal  linen,  with  daintily  embroidered  initials. 
To  the  marriage  chest  some  piece  of  linen  had  been 
added  almost  daily  for  years,  as  was  the  custom  in 
all  well-appointed  Dutch  households,  and  each  was 
a  perfect  specimen  of  finest  hand-sewing.  There  had 
been,  moreover,  the  dear  delight  of  choosing  gowns, 
some  of  which  were  hand-woven  and  dyed  with  the 
juice  of  various  plants,  for  it  was  the  pride  of  every 
Dutch  maic'en  or  prospective  matron  to  excel  in 
every  branch  of  feminine  industry.    Other  costumes 


THE  SEPARATION 


187 


were  of  brocade  or  taffeta  or  lutestring,  which  had 
been  brought  from  overseas. 

These  preparations  being  finally  concluded,  noth- 
ing remained  but  the  decoration  of  the  house  itself 
mto  which  task  both  girls  entered  eagerly,  with 
Jumbo,  the  foot-boy,  as  their  chief  assistant.  With 
his  white  teeth  showing  in  a  broad  grin  and  his 
eyes  rolling  in  enjoyment,  he  brought  from  the  gar- 
den armfuls  of  flowers— snowballs,  geraniums,  pinks 
nasturtiums  and  late  roses,— supplemented  by  those 
which  Evelyn  had  sent  thither  from  the  more  luxuri- 
ant profusion  of  her  own  flower-beds.  Those  with 
ma^es  of  greenery,  transformed  the  blue  and  gold 
of  the  drawmg-room  and  the  green  and  gold  of  the 
oak-panelled  dining-room  into  veritable  bowers,  the 
fragrance  of  which  was  supplemented  by  the  gardens 
without. 

As  the  new  Dutch  church  was  undergoing  repairs 
the  Doininie  consented  to  unite  the  two  prominent 
members  of  his  flock  in  the  house.  At  the  appointed 
time,  which  was  late  in  the  afternoon,  the  worthy 
mimster  repaired  thither.  He  advanced  into  the 
drawmg-room  to  salute  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  in 
his  small-clothes  and  tunic  of  black,  the  latter  with 
cuffed  sleeves  and  deep  ruffles  of  lace.  In  one  hand 
he  earned  his  cocked  hat,  and  in  the  other  his  silver- 
headed  cane.  Under  his  arm  was  the  book,  which 
a  negro  slave  had  carried  thither,  and  from  which 
he  was  to  read  the  marriage  service. 

Upstairs  the  bride  had  donned  her  bridal  finery 
with  the  assistance  of  her  negro  maid  and  under  the 
supervision  of  Evelyn  de  Lacey  and  the  other  brides- 
maids, who  were  all  relatives  of  the  bride  or  bride- 
groom. Polly  drew  her  dearest  friend  aside  a  moment 
into  the  deep  embrasure  of  a  window  overlooking  the 


IKI 


!<,,. 


I     :  :l 


tilp^ 


'ltd  ' 


1 88    GERALD  db  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

garden  where  their  confidences  had  been  so  often 
exchanged,  and  they  conversed  together  with  some- 
thing of  awe  and  solemnity  in  their  tones.  Evelyn, 
who  had  the  more  vivid  imagination,  felt  more  deeply 
the  significance  of  that  day's  happenings,  and  had 
the  greater  reason  for  her  misgivings,  inasmuch  as 
she  saw  in  the  prospective  bridegroom  a  man  of 
domineering  character  and  narrow  puritanical  views, 
who  was  personally  inimical  to  herself.  Even  Polly, 
whose  bright  and  cheerful  nature  usually  basked 
on  the  surface  of  things,  was  for  the  time  impressed. 

"Does  there  not  seem  something  terrible,"  she 
said,  "in  a  contract  that  is  irrevocable,  and  that 
can  scarcely  be  undone,  save  by  death?" 

"Which  can  never  be  undone  save  by  death," 
corrected  Evelyn.  "But  in  that  lies,  after  all,  I 
opine,  its  best  chance  of  happiness." 

Their  conference,  however,  was  of  but  short  dura- 
tion, for  the  summons  came  from  below  that  the 
Dominie  was  waiting,  and  they  heard  through  the 
open  window  the  chimes  from  the  steeple  of  the 
Dutch  Church,  pealing  out  for  the  bridal. 

Followed  by  the  other  bridesmaids,  Evelyn  de- 
scended the  stairs  with  Polly  to  the  rooms  below, 
where  were  already  assembled  all  that  Manhattan 
could  boast  of  wealth  and  influence.  For  the  mo- 
ment political  differences  were  forgotten.  Nicholas 
Bayard,  head  of  the  Dutch-English  party,  jostled 
shoulders  with  Abraham  de  Peyster,  Samuel  Staats, 
Peter  Delanoy,  Abraham  Gouvemeur  and  the  other 
leaders  of  the  Leislerian  faction ;  while  the  Schuylers, 
the  Van  Cortlandts,  Van  Rensselaers,  Minvielles, 
de  Riemers,  and  Delanceys,  all  prominent  in  the 
aristocratic  or  anti-Leislerian  faction,  mingled  freely 
with  the  Edsalls,  Lodovicks,  Derbyles  and  others, 


i^H? 


THE  SEPARATION 


189 


who  had  been  more  or  less  actj^rely  interested  in 
the  other  side  of  the  great  troubles.  A  prominent 
figure  was  John  Nanfan,  brother  of  Lady  Bellomont 
and  then  acting  as  Lieutenant-Governor,  who  had 
espoused  the  I^slerian  cause  and  otherwise  identified 
himself  with  the  fanatical  Protestant  element.  He 
had  walked  thither  from  Whitehall  with  Captain 
Prosser  Williams,  with  whom  he  was  on  terms  of 
great  intimacy.  Having  paid  their  respects  to 
Madam  Vin  Cortlandt,  who  was  receiving  her  guests 
in  a  gown  of  colored  satin,  resplendent  with  family 
jewels,  the  two  stood  apart  to  observe  the  scene. 

Standing  with  his  back  against  the  wall  to  catch 
the  first  glimpse  of  the  party  descending  the  stairs, 
was  Captain  Ferrers,  in  a  handsome  suit  of  velvet 
with  brocaded  waistcoat.  His  lean,  bronzed  coun- 
tenance wore  an  expression  of  eager  interest  and 
animation.  It  was  patent  to  the  merest  observer 
that  he  was  more  than  commonly  interested.  In 
the  background  were  all  the  negro  slaves  of  the  house- 
hold and  other  establishments  of  the  Van  Cortlandt 
family,  whose  privilege  it  was  to  be  present  in  their 
holiday  costumes,  the  men  wearing  the  family 
livery.  It  was  also  the  function  of  old  Peter,  the 
majordomo,  and  of  Maria,  the  cook,  as  the  oldest 
and  most  respected  of  their  number,  to  attend  the 
bridesmaids  when  they  passed  silver  plates  to  take 
up  a  collection  for  the  poor. 

Having  donned  his  long  white  gown,  the  Dominie 
stood  waiting  in  the  centre  of  the  drawing-room, 
while  the  hush  of  expectancy  was  broken  by  the 
strains  of  the  negro  orchestra,  stationed  in  the  hall 
outside.  It  struck  up  a  bridal  hymn,  which  had 
been  in  preparation  for  weeks.  To  this  music  the 
bride  and  her  attendants  came  down  the  stairs,  at 


n 


at 


fi  h" 


190    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

the  foot  of  which  waited  a  tall,  dark  young  man, 
with  a  narrow  face,  thin  lips  and  eyes  close  together. 
Polly  was  looking  her  b<»t,  with  a  radiant  aspect 
of  brightness  and  youth,  the  peach  bloom  of  her 
cheeks  and  the  sparkle  of  her  dark  eyes  set  off  by 
the  whiteness  of  her  dress  and  her  bride's  crown  of 
metal  studded  with  precious  stones — an  heirloom  from 
at  least  three  generations.  To  the  majority  of  those 
present  it  seemed  of  course  that  she  was  the  chief 
centre  of  attraction.  Yet  there  were  some  to  whom 
the  bride  and  the  other  bridesmaids  were  as  puppets, 
and  Evelyn  the  pivot  upon  which  turned  their 
thoughts,  and  towards  which  their  glances  were 
directed.  Her  gown  was  of  white  lutestring,  and  her 
bonnet  also  of  white,  with  trimmings  of  soft  ribbons 
and  flowers.  As  she  came  slowly  down  into  the 
flower-embowered  room,  she  resembled  nothing  so 
much  as  a  rare  and  delicate  flower,  which  only  a  con- 
noisseur cotild  properly  appreciate.  The  grace  of  her 
movements,  so  simple  and  so  natural,  the  expression 
of  her  face,  the  look  in  her  eyes  of  grey,  shadowed 
and  darkened  by  some  stress  of  feeling,  lent  her  an 
indescribable  loveliness.  In  the  midst  of  all  the  jubi- 
lation of  the  marriage  feast,  there  was  for  her  a 
note  of  tmderlying  tragedy  in  the  menace  that  hung 
over  all  those  of  the  Catholic  faith,  and  especially 
over  her  father  and  herself.  For  perils,  she  knew, 
were  closing  thick  and  fast  around  them,  though 
the  latest  developments  had  been  mercifully  hidden 
from  her. 

This  added  charm  in  Eveljm's  appearance  was 
keenly  felt  by  at  least  three  men  in  the  room.  The 
intensity  of  their  interest  and  its  kind  varied,  of 
course,  with  the  nature  of  each  individual.  These 
three  were  Pieter  Schuyler,  the  girl's  old  friend  and 


THE  SEPARATION 


191 


long-devoted  admirer,  and  the  two  officers  of  His 
Excellency's  Household,  Captain  Ferrers  and  Cap- 
tain Prosser  Williams.  The  former  of  the  officers 
could  scarcely  explain  his  feelings.  He  seemed  in- 
spired at  the  moment  t  some  new  and  lofty  enthusi- 
asm for  what  was  right  and  good,  and  to  a  desire  to 
win  Evelyn  by  some  intrinsic  merit  of  his  own,  which 
would  make  him  worthy  of  her.  He  who  faiew  all 
that  was  impending  over  her,  and  the  trial  that 
awaited  her  when  she  learned  of  her  father's  proxi- 
mate flight,  could  best  interpret  the  shadow  of 
tragedy  in  those  beautiful,  haunting  eyes.  He 
pledged  himself  anew  to  her  service  and  to  her  de- 
fence, surrendering  his  whole  heart  into  her  keeping. 
He  waited,  with  an  eagerness  which  caused  him  to 
forget  the  bride  and  all  the  other  figures  in  that  page- 
ant, for  the  moment  when  Evelyn's  eyes  should  meet^ 
his,  and  her  smile,  infinitely  sweet  for  her  friends, 
should  reward  him  for  his  patience. 

The  gaze  of  Prosser  Williams  was  likewise  fixed 
upon  the  first  bridesmaid's  face  with  an  expression 
in  which  such  love  as  he  was  capable  of  feeling  was 
blended  with  a  kind  of  hatred.  For  had  she  not 
persistently  repelled  hisad/ances?  At  that  instant, 
he  felt  indeed,  if  he  analyzed  his  own  feelings,  as 
one  who  had  been  shot  through  the  heart  by  that 
intensified  and  fatal  beauty.  He  leaned  against 
the  wall  cold  and  pale,  with  but  one  thought  in  his 
mind— how  he  could  overcome  the  girl's  distaste 
for  himself  which  she  so  plainly  manifested,  or, 
failing  that,  in  some  fashion  or  another  secure  her 
for  his  own.  As  Evelyn  turned  to  take  her  place 
beside  her  friend  and  facing  the  minister.  Captain 
Williams'  glance,  momentarily  diverted,  encountered 
that  of  Captain  Ferrers,  and  he  knew  then  for  a  cer- 


ilill: 


1 

!|  • 


if'"' 


19a    GERALD  DB  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

tainty  what  he  had  long  suspected,  that  here  wu  a 
rival  and  one  by  no  means  to  be  despised.  There 
was  a  gleam  of  deadly  hatred  in  his  eyes,  which  the 
other,  regarding  him  stiiadily,  caught  and  interpreted. 
Captain  Williams  was  recalled  to  a  sense  of  what  was 
passing  about  him  by  the  voice  of  John  Nanfan 
soundUng  in  his  ears. 

"That  is  a  striking  wench  yonder,  the  tallest  of 
the  bridesmaids."  ... 

"Yes,"  answered  Williams,  with  a  coldness  of 
which  he  was  unconscious.  "In  truth,  she  is  striking, 
that  bird  with  fine  plumage." 

"Too  soon  to  have  outlived  your  enthu^asm. 
Captain,"  said  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  with  a 
laugh.  "But  who  may  be  this  fair  prodigy,  whom  I 
do  not  remember  to  have  seen  before?" 

To  Captain  Williams  it  seemed  incredible  that, 
during  his  two  years  in  the  colony,  Mr.  Nanfan 
should  still  be  inquiring  as  to  the  identity  of  Mistress 
de  Lacey.  But  he  remembered  that  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  had  been  for  a  certain  portion  of  that  time 
in  Albany,  and,  having  himself  a  wife  and  family, 
would  naturally  be  less  interested  in  the  beauties 
of  Manhattan.    He  answered  very  briefly: 

"Her  name  is  de  Lacey." 

"Ah!"  said  Nanfan,  to  whom  at  the  mc  ment  this 
name  conveyed  nothing.  Nor  did  Captain  Williams 
enlighten  him  any  further.  He  had  information 
which  would  have  'leepened  the  other's  interest, 
if  not  his  admiration,  but  that  information  would 
not  be  given  until  all  hope  of  winning  the  young 
girl  by  ordinary  and  fair  means  had  vanished.  Nor 
did  he  in  any  case  desire  such  help  as  Mr.  Nanfan 
could  undoubtedly  have  given,  until  his  own  plans 
were  fully  matured. 


THE  SEPARATION 


•93 


"Who  are  her  people?"  asked  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  after  a  pause.  "Are  they  amongst  the 
notables  of  these  colonies?" 

"As  I  have  been  informed,"  answered  the  Captain, 
with  apparent  carelessness,  "they  are  not  native 
here,  and  they  are  poor." 

"Beauty  in  distress,"  commented  Mr.  Nanfan, 
with  a  sneer.  "With  that  face  she  may  ensnare  some 
young  idiot,  who  will  find  her  charms  compensation 
for  her  lack  of  fortune." 

The  young  man  was  conscious  of  a  kind  of  rage 
against  the  speaker,  but  he  forced  his  lips  to  a  smile, 
as  he  replied  indifferently: 

"She  has,  I  make  no  doubt,  snared  many  a  one 
before  now." 

Mr.  Nanfan  regarded  him  curiously,  with  eyes 
that  were  keen  and  penetrating;  but  the  cold,  life- 
less face  to'.d  him  nothing,  and  r.i  that  moment  the 
caning  words  of  the  marriag'!  ceremony  gave  the 
signal  for  silence. 

When  the  Dominie  had  concluded  the  service 
which  transformed  Mistress  Polly  Van  Cortlandt 
into  Vrow  Laurens,  and  had  in  fatherly  fashion 
kissed  the  bride,  the  latter,  smiling  and  radiant, 
turned  to  receive  the  congratulations  and  good  wishes 
of  her  friends.  Beside  her  stood  Evelyn,  who,  as  she 
now  glanced  about  the  room,  caught  the  gaze  of 
Captain  Ferrers.  She  drew  in  her  breath  sharply, 
for,  if  ever  devotion  were  legible  in  the  eyes  of  man, 
she  could  read  it  there.  She  flushed  ever  so  slightly, 
then  paled,  but  the  smile  which  she  gave  him  was 
very  sweet,  though  tinged  with  sadness.  For  with 
the  realization  of  his  absolute  devotion  had  come 
upon  her  with  full  force  the  difficulties  separating 
them,  which  any  forecast  of  the  future  must  show, 


iiiit; 


i"  i  ^ 


ill 

*.v 

t 

■\  i 

I' 

II 


r-    ( 


194    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

And  yet  the  knowledge  she  had  just  gained  lent  a 
brightness  to  her  eyes  and  an  unwonted  animation 
to  her  manner.  It  was  as  though  a  cup  had  been 
held  to  her  lips,  of  which  she  had  sipped,  but  had 
not  dared  to  drink.  But  the  menace  which  Captain 
Ferrers  had  read  in  the  eyes  of  his  fellow-ofBcer  con- 
strained him  to  be  prudent,  lest  by  any  act  of  his 
he  might  increase  those  difficulties  and  even  perils 
which  he  very  clearly  saw  were  lying  in  wait  for 
Evelyn  at  every  turn.  It  cost  him  a  painful  effort 
to  keep  away  from  that  one  person  in  whom  all  his 
interest  was  centred  and  to  mingle  freely  with  the 
other  guests,  while  something  like  a  cloud  of  disap- 
pointment fell  over  the  brightness  of  Evelyn's  mood. 
At  her  side,  with  a  devotion  which  she  appreciated, 
though  she  could  not  return  it,  hovered  Pieter 
Schuyler.    Once  she  sighed  as  she  said  to  herself: 

"Oh,  if  I  could  bat  make  Pieter  as  happy  as  he 
deserves  to  be,  and  settle  down  like  Polly  to  be  a 
matron  of  Manhattan!" 

But  deep  in  her  heart  she  knew  that,  apart  from 
the  religious  considerations  and  the  other  dilBcvd- 
ties  which  would  now  tend  to  separate  them,  there 
was  another  reason  more  potent  than  all.  In  this 
gay  scene  participated  the  chief  burghers  of  Man- 
hattan, with  their  wives  and  sons  or  daughters. 
Councillors  of  State  and  civic  dignitaries,  officers 
from  the  garrison  and  naval  men  from  the  ship 
in  the  harbor,  as  well  as  all  the  gilded  youth  of  the 
colony;  but  there  was  one  guest  who  in  her  mind 
dominated  all  the  rest,  and  that  was  an  officer  from 
the  Household  of  Lord  Bellomont.  She,  however, 
followed  Captain  Ferrers'  example  and  made  her- 
self very  agreeable  to  all  the  guests,  each  of  whom, 
and  notably  the  young  officers  of  the  garrison,  came 


THE  SEPARATION 


I9S 


to  have  a  word  with  her  and  to  surround  her  with  an 
atmosphere  of  admiration  and  of  adulation  of  which 
she  could  not  but  be  sensible.  Mynheer  de  Vries, 
amongst  the  rest,  came  %r.*Y  his  smooth  and  polished 
voice  to  offer  some  stilted  compliments  to  his  charm- 
ing neighbor,  who,  he  said,  was  the  pride  of  that 
quarter  in  which  they  both  resided. 

"It  is  no  small  thing,"  he  said,  "to  possess  in 
our  comer  of  the  burg  one  of  the  chief  beauties  of 
Manhattan." 

Whilst  he  was  thus  conversing.  Mynheer's  small, 
cold  eyes  moved  restlessly  about  the  room  and  dis- 
covered the  girl's  father.  Apparently,  he  had  just 
come  in,  and  Evelyn  noted  with  a  thnll  of  pride  that 
in  all  that  assemblage  there  was  none  of  more  dis- 
tinguished bearing  than  he.  He  was  evidently 
looking  for  her,  as  by  that  time  she  had  moved  away 
from  her  conspicuous  position  beside  the  bride. 
After  he  had  paid  his  compliments  to  Polly,  keeping 
up  with  her  a  few  moments'  interchange  of  gay 
badinage,  and  conversed  a  little  with  Madam  Van 
Cortlandt,  he  advanced  in  Evelyn's  direction. 
Mynheer  and  he  exchanged  greetings,  after  which 
de  Vries  passed  on,  moving  about  amongst  the  guests 
in  a  fashion  of  his  own  that  was  almost  stealthy. 
Left  momentarily  alone  with  his  daughter,  Mr.  de 
Lacey  drew  her  hastily  apart  into  the  embrasure  of 
a  window,  and  the  anxious  eyes  of  the  girl  noticed 
a  new  excitement  in  his  manner  and  at  the  same  time 
a  profound  sadness.  He  regarded  her  intently  for 
an  instant  without  speaking,  and  then  remarked 
in  an  effort  to  speak  lightly: 

"The  bridesmaid  costiune  suits  my  Evelyn  well, 
and  I  am  striving  to  impress  that  fair  picture  on  my 
memory." 


n       '>':> 


.l.ll 


196    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

Evelyn  looked  at  him  with  some  surprise.  Cer- 
tainly his  manner  was  unusual,  and  his  words  awak- 
ened  in  her  mind  a  deep  foreboding. 

"For  I  have  made  my  appearance  at  these  wed- 
ding festivities  from  motives  of  policy,  as  well  as 
to  salute  the  bride  and  to  say  farewell  for  the  time 
to  my  little  daughter." 

Eveljm  stared  at  him  aghast. 

"Do  not  look  so  hoirified,"  the  father  cried, 
"lest  attention  be  directed  towards  us.  Now  is  the 
moment  for  courage.  Nor  must  we  be  seen  for  long 
in  conversation.  You  will  hear  all  from  Captain 
Ferrers  and  Madam  Van  Cortlandt.  You  are  to 
remain  with  her  for  the  present,  until  I  have  made 
such  arrangements  as  may  make  it  possible  for  you 
to  join  me.    As  soon  as  it  is  prudent,  I  will  write." 

"But  why,  oh  why,  can  I  not  go  with  you?"  cried 
Eveljm,  despairingly. 

"We  have  considered  all  the  circumstances," 
answered  her  father,  "and  it  is  wiser  that  you  should 
remain  here  until  it  be  possible  for  me  to  return,  or 
until  I  have  got  a  secure  refuge  somewhere.  In  the 
latter  event,  or  should  any  emergency  arise,  I  will 
send  at  once  for  you." 

Utterly  overcome  by  this  intelligence  which  had 
come  upon  her  so  suddenly,  the  girl  could  scarcely 
speak,  while  her  father  stiU  regarded  her  with  the 
same  mournful  intentness. 

"And  now,"  he  added,  taking  her  hand  for  a 
moment  in  his,  "it  is  best  that  I  go  forth  as  quietly 
as  possible  from  this  house.  To  avoid  observation, 
I  diall  leave  Manha-tan  while  these  festivities  are 
still  at  their  height.  My  present  destination  is — " 
and,  bending  close  lest  any  other  should  hear,  he 
whispered  to  her  the  name  of  a  little  town  in  an 


ll! 


THE  SEPARATION  197 

adjacent  colony  where  a  friend  had  oflered  him  a 
place  of  refuge. 

The  father  and  daughter  looked  into  each  other's 
^^  °^*  moment  longer,  in  a  mute  agony  of  fare- 
weU.  To  Evelyn  it  seemed  as  if  all  her  life  was 
crumbhng  around  her.  She  had  never  been  separated 
from  her  father,  save  when,  for  a  week  or  a  fortnight 
she  had  been  the  guest  of  the  Van  Cortlandts  or 
some  other  fnends. 

"Farewell,  then,"  the  father  said  at  last,  "and 
may  God  have  you  safe  in  His  holy  keeping,  Uttle 
Evelyn,  httle  Evelyn,  till  we  meet  again !'  ' 

His  voice  broke  and  he  turned  away  to  mingle 
with  the  crowd.  It  cost  the  girl  a  supreme  effort  of 
will  at  that  moment  to  restrain  her  tears  and  sup- 
press all  outward  signs  of  that  pain  which,  in  its 
sharpness  and  severity,  rent  her  heart  with  a  physical 
pang.  Just  at  that  instant  Captain  Ferrers,  who 
had  been  watching  the  progress  of  events,  came 
towards  Evelyn  and,  offering  his  arm,  suggested  a 
httle  stroU  m  the  garden.  Acting  upon  the  sugges- 
tion, which  she  joyfully  acceptc .  and  the  motive  of 
which  she  understood,  she  was  thus  enabled  to  clasp 
her  father  momentarily  in  a  farewell  embrace,  before 
he  stole  away  hastily  through  the  garden  gate. 


Itii 


m 


CHAPTER  VIII 

CLOSER     IN     GRIEP 

WHEN  Mr.  de  Lacey  had  sped  silently  away 
into  the  darkness,  Evelyn  felt  towards  Cap- 
tain Ferrers  a  fervor  of  gratitude  for  having  procured 
that  last  consolation  for  her  father  and  herself,  and 
at  the  same  time  for  having  withdrawn  her  from 
that  gay  scene  within  doors,  which  just  then  she  felt 
to  be  intolerable.  The  two  remained  alone  in  the 
perfumed  stiUness  of  the  night,  with  flowering  shrubs 
all  about  them  and  the  tall  trees  waving  with  a 
rhythmic  movement  above  their  heads. 

For  several  minutes  the  young  man  did  not  in- 
trude by  so  much  as  a  word  upon  the  young  girl  and 
her  sorrow.  He  was  holding  himself  in  strong  con- 
straint lest  some  avowal  should  pass  his  lips,  which 
might  embarrass  future  relations  between  them. 
As  he  stood  near  her  with  folded  arms,  leaning 
against  a  tree,  he  rapidly  reviewed  the  situation. 
He  felt  that  at  that  moment  he  would  gladly  have 
resigned  his  position,  with  all  that  it  might  hold  of 
future  preferment,  if  by  so  doing  he  could  win  this 
one  woman,  whom  he  loved  above  all  others,  for  his 
wife.  But  he  knew  that  such  a  course  of  action 
would  only  increase  the  peril  of  her  situation.  He 
himself  would  be  powerless  to  protect  her  amongst 
so  many  and  such  influential  enemies.    Even  Lady 


m- 


CLOSER  IN  GRIEF  J99 

BeUomont  could  do  little  and  my  Lord's  wrath  would 
be  but  strengthened  tenfold  by  the  loss  of  an  officer 
whom  he  had  found  singularly  useful.  Moreover, 
as  he  told  himself,  he  had  had  little  reason  as  yet 
to  be  certam  of  Evelyn's  favor.  It  was  not  her  na- 
ture to  wear  her  heart  upon  her  sleeve,  and,  aware 
as  she  was  of  all  the  obstacles  between  them,  she 
had  gone  out  of  her  way  to  seem  unconscious  of 
his  preference  for  her  society.  For  one  wild  moment 
he  asked  himself  whether  he  could  possibly  induce 
her  to  fly  with  him  to  England,  or  still  better,  to  the 
Contment,  where  they  might  bury  themselves  in  a 
happy  obscurity.  But  his  common  sense  told  him 
that,  even  were  Evelyn  wiUing  to  desert  her  father 
in  the  hour  of  trial,  which  from  her  character  he 
knew  to  be  unthinkable,  it  would  be  next  to  impos- 
able  for  them  to  encompass  such  a  departure  safelv 
Vessels  saihng  for  ports  beyond  the  seas  were  sub- 
ject to  stnct  mquiry,  so  that,  even  if  he  were  certain 
that  his  love  was  reciprocated,  he  could  not  ask  her 
to  take  so  perilous  a  step. 

Yet,  even  as  breaking  silence  he  went  on  with 
business-hke  dehberation  to  explain  the  causes  of 
her  fathers  hasty  departure,  and  the  plans  which 
he  had  laid  in  concert  with  Madam  Van  Cortlandt. 
he  felt  in  ths  mmgled  emotions  of  that  hour  a  sweet- 
ness which  he  remembeied  aU  his  life.  The  girl's 
charm,  hw  deUcacy  of  outline,  the  warmth  and  sym- 
pathy of  her  expression,  were  heightened  tenfold  by 
the  very  depths  of  her  sorrow  and  anxiety,  as  in 
the  white  of  her  bridesmaid's  costume  she  stood  be- 
side hrni  on  ,he  garden  path.  She  had  forgotten 
ever>thmg  for  the  moment  but  the  thought  of  her 
fether  settmg  out  thus  alone  in  the  darkness  of  night. 
With  her  eyes  fixed  upon  the  speaker's  face,  she 


1'::^ 


ISJ-      s 


aoo    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

listened  silently  while  Captain  Ferrers  briefly  ex- 
plained how  the  recognition  of  her  lather  by  Captain 
Williams  and  his  clear  recollection  of  aU  that  had 
transpired  in  London,  together  .vith  evidence  that 
he  had  since  obtained  of  his  being  a  Catholic,  had 
made  it  expedient  that  he  should  immediately  re- 
move himself  from  peril  so  imminent.  Captain 
Ferrers  gave  it  as  his  opinion,  based  upon  remarks 
which  Captain  Williams  had  let  fall,  that  the  latter's 
plans  were  well  laid  and  that  he  might  at  any  mo- 
ment procure  Mr.  de  Lacey's  arrest  and  transport 
overseas  for  trial  in  London.  He  informed  Evelyn 
of  the  conference  which  he  had  held  with  her  father, 
and  he  in  his  turn  with  Madam  Van  Cortlandt,  and 
how  all  their  plans  had  been  laid  before  he  had  sent 
the  final  note  of  warning  to  Mr.  de  Lacey.  The 
latter  was  now  to  seek  safety  in  the  town  of  Salem, 
in  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts,  where  it  was  hoped 
that  he  might  remain  in  an  obscurity  wh^ch  meant 
safety.  Once  his  departure  was  discovered,  if  ques- 
tions were  adced,  it  could  be  answered  that  he  had 
left  town  on  business.  It  would  meanwhile  seem 
quite  natural  that  Evelyn  should  remain  with  Madam 
Van  Cortlandt  in  the  first  lonely  weeks  following  the 
wedding.  Even  the  bride  herself,  on  account  of  her 
husband's  well-known  sympathies,  would  be  kept 
in  ignorance  of  the  true  reason  for  Evelyn's  extended 
stay  at  the  Van  Cortlandt  mansion.  For  Madam 
Van  Cortlandt's  keen  instinct  had  led  her,  where 
politics  were  concerned  and  above  all  wh'xe  there 
was  question  of  tho  Catholic  faith,  to  distrust 
Polly's  husband. 

After  Captain  Ferrers  had  told  her  all,  Evelyn 
was  silent  for  a  moment,  standing  amongst  the 
fragrance  and  beauty  of  the  flowers  and  seeming 


CLOSER  IN  GRIEF  loi 

to  the  lover's  eyes  more  beautiful  than  any  of  them. 
So  human  and  so  lender  she  appe^^,  with  the 
tears  starting  from  her  eyes,  streaming  down  her 
cheeks,  and  falling  unheeded  upon  her  wedding  finery. 
The  sight  very  nearly  upset  Egbert  Ferrers'  resolu- 
tion. But  in  an  instant  Evelyn  had  regained  her 
coniposure,  and  the  young  man  could  not  help  ad- 
miring her  noble  and  dignified  aspect. 

"I  thank  God,"  she  said  at  last,  "that  my  father 
IS  gone.  Yes,  and  all  the  heavenly  friends  who  are 
watching  over  us.  But,  oh,  I  would  that  I  could  have 
been  with  him!" 

Her  eyes  fixed  upon  Captain  Ferrers'  face  in  an 
appeal  that  deeply  moved  him,  and  again  he  found 
It  hard  to  repress  the  passionate  avowal  that  rose 
to  his  hps.  He  explained  to  her  quietly  and  gravely 
how  inadvisable  such  a  course  of  action  would  be 
at  the  moment,  jince  it  would  provoke  immediate 
inquiry  and  would  very  probably  compromise  the 
safety  of  both.  It  was  expedient  that  her  father 
should  go  first,  especially  as  his  religion  and  political 
antecedents  placed  him  in  the  graver  danger,  and  as 
It  seemed  less  likely  that  Captain  Williams  would 
teUie  action  against  the  daughter.  So  quietly  had 
Mr.  de  Lacey  lived  that  his  absence  from  tJie  city 
would  scarcely  be  noticed  at  first,  whereas  that  of 
Evelyn  would  be  known  immediately.  Once  the 
fugitive  had  reached  a  place  of  safety,  it  would 
be  easier  for  her  to  join  him,  and  it  might  even  be 
supposed  that  both  had  gone  to  the  Barbadoes  on 
matters  of  business.  Meanwhile,  as  Madam  Van 
Cortlandt  declared,  failing  any  new  developments, 
the  young  girl  could  remain  indefinitely  with  her. 

"I  have  been  so  selfishly  intent  on  our  own  con- 
cerns," said  Evelyn,  turning  to  the  young  man  be- 


I(! 


I! 


r:        ■  I 


202    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

side  her  with  a  new  light  of  gratitude  in  her  eyes, 
"that  I  have  been  sorely  remiss  in  thanking  you  for 
your  generous  help,  for  your  exceeding  great  fore- 
thought and  consideration.  What  should  we  have 
done  without  you?" 

"  Never  spe^of  it,  I  do  entreat  you,"  said  Captain 
Ferrers,  "since  it  is  I  who  am  most  deeply  in  your 
debt  for  having  been  allowed  to  serve  you." 

Never  had  the  two  felt  so  near  together  as  when 
they  were  thus  united  by  this  common  interest, 
this  grave  issue  almost  of  'life  and  death.  Each 
felt  a  glow  of  happiness  in  the  other's  presence, 
which  gave  to  Evelyn  a  sense  of  inexpressible  com- 
fort in  her  present  desolation.  But  sh3  would  not 
for  worlds  have  expressed  just  t*'  :!n  such  a  sentiment. 
Instead  she  fell  to  talking  of  her  father,  .^ving  that 
it  was  her  dearest  wish  to  rejoin  him  at  the  earliest 
moment.  ,,    .„ 

"And  you,"  she  said  to  Captain  Ferrers  will 
help  me,  will  you  not?" 

"Yes,  in  truth,"  cried  Captain  Ferrerr,,  I  will 
help  you  always  and  in  all  things.  For  I  am  con- 
strained to  tell  you  that  I  would  give  my  right 
hand,  and  even  my  very  life,  to  serve  you." 

The  moumfulness  in  Evelyn's  eyes,  as  she  regarded 
him,  pierced  him  to  the  heart.  Perhaps  she  saw 
before  her  the  bright  vista  of  love  and  happiness 
that  might  have  opened  before  them  but  for  the 
cruel  entanglement  of  circumstances  which  held 
them  as  in  a  net. 

"How  hard  it  is,"  cried  the  young  man  impetu- 
ously, "to  think  that  I  am  thus  bound  hand  and 
foot,  so  that  a  move  in  any  direction  whatsoever 
might  work  your  ruin!" 

"And  yours,"  responded  Evelyn,  "which  is  some- 


CLOSER  IN  GRIEF 


203 


thing  that  I  will  never  peimit.  Whatever  may  be- 
fall, I  beg  of  you  to  stand  aloof." 

"Cruel  counsel,"  exclaimed  Ferrers,  "which  I 
would  fain  hope  is  inspired  rather  by  your  head  than 
by  your  heart." 

A  lovely  wave  of  color  crept  into  Evelyn's  cheeks 
and  a  light  into  her  eyes,  but  she  merely  said: 

"You  will  but  involve  yourself  in  needless  ruin, 
and  be  then  powerless  to  help  us — the  outlaws." 

"If  it  were  but  a  question  of  myself,"  cried  Fer- 
rers hotly,  "Heaven  knows  that  it  would  matter 
little.  I  would  give  up  all,  and  do  all,  to  be  but 
assured  of  your  regard  and  to  have  a  chance,  how- 
ever remote,  of  winning  you  for  my  wife." 

Into  Evelyn's  face,  more  beautiful  than  ever 
with  the  touch  of  warm  and  living  color,  came  an 
expression  which  betrayed  the  loving  depths  below. 
When  she  spoke,  however,  it  was  firmly  and  com- 
posedly: 

"You  must  not  speak,  nor  must  I  hear,  words 
which  will  bind  you  to  anything.  From  this  mo- 
ment forward,  you  are  a  friend  whom  I  shall  value 
above  all  others.  But  with  my  faith  proscribed, 
with  perils  everywhere,  I  must  have  no  ties  save  my 
father." 

"Be  it  so  then  for  the  moment,"  agreed  Ferrers. 
"I  shall  not  intrude  fiuther  upon  you  with  the 
avowal  of  my  sentiments,  which,  believe  me,  I  had 
not  meant  under  these  circumstances  to  make.  At 
least,  I  may  offer  you  my  friendship  with  a  stead- 
fast will  to  serve  you." 

"I  have  never  doubted  either,"  replied  Evelsm 
sincerely,  "only  they  must  not  be  used  to  your 
detriment.  For  so  unhappy  are  all  the  circum- 
stances— " 


ao4    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

"Unhappy,  in  truth,"  interposed  Ferrers,  with  a 
sudden  burst  of  vexation.  "Why  must  it  chance 
that  you  are  of  the  proscribed  faith,  of — " 

But  there  Evelyn  stopped  him  peremptorily,  with 
a  proud  uplift  of  her  chin  and  an  enthusiasm  which 
the  young  man  found  inexpressibly  charming. 

"You  must  not  think,"  she  said  decidedly,  "that 
I  am  not  most  glad  to  suffer  something  for  religion's 
sake.  It  would  be  an  honor  unspeakable  to  die  for 
the  Catholic  and  Apostolic  faith." 

Though  her  companion  nattu-ally  could  not  feel 
as  she  did,  nor  experience  any  emotion  at  the  thought 
of  that  faith,  he  nevertheless  respected  it  as  that  of 
his  dead  mother,  and  was  more  favorably  impressed 
than  ever  by  the  coiirage  and  loyalty  of  the  girl, 
which  appealed  to  all  ^t  was  finest  in  his  own 
nature.    Yet  he  only  cried  out,  with  a  kind  of  terror : 

"But  you  will  be  prudent.  You  will  not  speak  in 
such  terms  to  anyone  else.  And  this  I  beg  of  you, 
if  not  for  my  sake,  for  that  of  your  father." 

"For  his  sake — for  your  saJte,  if  you  will,"  said 
Evelyn,  with  a  smile,  "for  all  our  sakes  I  will  be 
careful  and  chary  of  my  words.  As  a  first  step 
in  prudence,  will  it  not  be  wiser  that  we  should  leave 
the  garden  and  return  into  the  house  lest  our  ab- 
sence may  lead  to  remark?" 

"'Tis  most  unpalatable  advice,"  said  the  young 
man  ruefully,  "but,  as  it  is  a  dose  of  my  own  medi- 
cine, I  must  swallow  it." 

In  silence  they  moved  on  together,  in  his  mind 
no  other  thought  than  that  of  their  meeting  that 
evening  and  the  new  bonds  that  had  been  forged 
between  them.  As  they  neared  the  house  the  negro 
minstrels  were  playing  a  lively  strain  and  the  bride, 
preparing  to  depart  upstairs  to  doff  her  white  gown 


CLOSER  IN  GRIEF 


30$ 


for  another,  was  looking  for  her  dearest  friend  and 
chief  bridesmaid.  Ferrers  knew  that  presently, 
after  the  bride  had  gone,  all  would  be  footing  it 
lightly  in  "La  belle  Katherine"  or  "Money  Musk," 
as  though  there  were  no  care  or  sorrow  in  the  world, 
no  aching  hearts,  no  persecution,  tyranny  and  death. 


II  I 


V     i 


CHAPTER  IX 


AN  UNWELCOME  MBETINO 

WHILE  the  wedding  festivities  were  still  at 
their  height,  the  tall  figure  of  a  man  might 
be  seen  descen&ig  with  rapid  steps  the  path  which 
led  to  the  Water-Gate.  As  he  passed  the  tavern  of 
Der  Halle  and  glanced  through  the  open  window, 
he  saw  that  the  brightly  lighted  ro'itn  was  almost 
devoid  of  company.  Many  of  those  who  gathered 
there  of  an  evening  for  a  pipe  and  a  social  glass, 
were  above  at  the  mansion  where  the  gentility  of  the 
town  were  celebrating  the  union  of  two  of  its  most 
prominent  families.  Only  a  few  scattered  groups  of 
two  or  three,  mostly  of  the  seafaring  class,  were 
assembled.  Gerald  . :  Lacey  paused  and,  out  of 
the  dreariness  of  his  approaching  exile,  regarded 
wistfully  that  homely,  familiar  place,  whence  light 
and  comfort  seemed  to  irradiate.  Even  the  broad 
and  genial  countenance  of  mine  host,  as  he  sat 
behind  the  bar,  was  suggestive  of  good  cheer.  So 
suddenly  that  he  had  not  time  to  take  any  pre- 
cautions, the  door  opened  and  Mr.  de  Lacey  found 
himself  confronted  by  Captain  Greatbatch,  that 
notorious  smuggler  to  whose  name  so  many  people, 
were  ready  to  a&3i  a  harsher  epithet.  The  fugitive 
would  have  passed  on  quickly,  but  the  other  hiailed 
him: 


AN  UNWELCOME  MEETING        207 

"May  I  beg  to  know  your  errand,  comrade,  that 
you  go  ID  fast?" 

The  man  so  addressed  slackened  his  pace  and 
waited,  for  nothing  could  have  been  worse  for  his 
d«dre  of  secrecy  than  that  he  should  excite  sus- 
picion, even  in  the  mind  of  this  sea-rover.  Great- 
batch,  having  caught  up  with  him,  laid  a  detaining 
hand  on  his  shoulder,  from  which  Mr.  de  Lacey 
impatiently  freed  himself,  while  the  other  peered 
at  him  a  moment  in  the  deep  gloom. 

"Ho!  is  it  you.  Master  de  Lacey?"  he  cried. 

The  fugitive,  who  had  hoped  that  he  might  escape 
recognition,  made  no  further  attempt  at  conceal- 
ment, but  answered  carelessly: 

"Aye,  Captain  Greatbatch,  it  is  I." 

"I  should  ha'  thought,"  said  Greatbatch,  with  a 
ctmning  glance  out  of  the  comer  of  his  eye,  "that 
you  would  ha'  been  ur  at  the  great  house  with  all 
the  gentles  for  the  marrying." 

"And  so  I  have  been,"  replied  Mr.  de  Lacey, 
"though  such  merry-makings  are  but  Uttle  to  my 
taste.    I  am  a  man  of  books." 

"Which  makes  you  so  pale  and  pasty,"  said 
Greatbatch,  aware  of  the  contrast  between  his  own 
rubicund,  even  purplish  countenance  and  that  of 
his  companion. 

"Moreover,"  added  Mr.  de  Lacey,  composedly, 
though  inwardly  fuming  at  the  necessity  for  such 
an  explanation,  as  well  as  at  the  insolent  familiarity 
of  the  other,  "I  am  leaving  Manhattan  for  a  brief 
period,  and,  as  the  weather  is  fair  and  th  wnd 
favorable,  I  sail  to-night." 

"For  Barbadoes,  mayhap,"  queried  Greatbatch,  in- 
quisitively, "with  Rogers  Master  on  'The  Mermaid.' 
He  sails  for  Madeira,  St.  Thomas  and  Barbadoes," 


*w! 


2o8     GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

There  was  more  than  a  note  of  suspicion  in  the 
fellow's  voice,  and  in  the  look  that,  turning  round, 
he  fixed  upon  the  fugitive.  Mr.  de  Lacey,  making 
no  direct  answer,  said : 

"In  the  last  place  I  have  acquired  interests  that 
demand  some  looking  after.  And  it  is  a  fair  wind 
for  sailing  and  good  weather." 

"Better'n  we  are  like  to  have  in  these  colonies, 

by  "  exclaimed  Greatbatch,  swearing  a  great 

oath,  "as  you  may  know.  Master,  if  you  be,  as  I 
might  say,  o'  the  trade." 

He  gave  his  listener  a  poke  in  the  ribs  to  emphasize 
his  words.  Mr.  de  Lacey,  puzzled  for  a  moment,  was 
presently  relieved,  for  he  saw  how  far  off  the  scent 
was  the  seaman,  to  whom  matters  maritime  were  of 
paramount  interest.  His  laugh,  therefore,  seemed  to 
Greatbatch  a  confirmation  of  his  suspicions. 

"And  mighty  close  you  have  been  about  it.  Mas- 
ter," he  added  with  something  of  admiration,  "but 
none  so  quiet  as  will  not  be  found  out  in  the  long 
run.  And  wise  you  are  to  run  away,  if  trouble  is 
brewing,  though  my  plan  is  to  brave  it  out.  My 
Lord  Bellomont" — and  he  added  under  his  breath, 
"curse  him!— is  hard  on  the  traders,  harder  than 
ever  since  he  got  bit  by  Cap'n  Kidd,  whom  he  had 
set  to  lord  it  over  all  of  us  and  do  the  pirating  for 
the  Governor  and  for  the  King's  Majesty,  as  I  make 
no  doubt,  and  as  folks  say.  Only  that  Kidd  gave 
them  the  slip  and  cried  'By  your  leave,  gentles,  I'll 
do  the  piratin'  for  myself.'  Oh  Lud!  when  I  thinks 
on  it."  He  stopped  to  give  a  roar  of  laughter  and  to 
slap  his  knee  with  his  great  red  hand:  "To  think 
how  he  was  cotched!" 

Looking  around  to  be  sure  that  th"-;  were  alone, 
and  lowering  his  voice,  he  continued: 


,.--i- 


AN  UNWELCOME  MEETING        209 

"Th  ugh  thnre  i-3  some  that  say  the  Governor 
was  dt  p  in  it  as  ;  nother  man,  and,  if  all  had  gone 
well  with  Xio.rt  and  he  had  played  fair  with  his 
mates,  he  would  ha'  had  his  profit  out  o'  the  'Quidder 
Merchant,'  and  a  deal  besides.  What  think  vou. 
Master?"  ^ 

'"Tis  a  wise  man  that  puts  not  his  thoughts  into 
words  these  days,"  answered  Mr.  de  Lacey,  guard- 
edly, "and,  in  truth,  my  own  opinion  would  be  that 
all  that  relates  to  His  Excellency  must  be  but  idle 
gossip." 

Greatbatch  snorted  his  unbeUef. 

"You  are  close  as  an  oyster,"  he  said,  "and  right 
you  may  be,  but  Tom  Greatbatch's  way  is  to  speak 
his  mind  fair  and  open." 

"Well,  each  to  his  own  fashion,"  Mr.  de  Lacey 
responded  lightly,  "only  beware  that  one  of  these 
days  you  do  not  run  your  neck  into  a  halter." 

Captain  Greatbatch  scowled,  whether  at  the  warn- 
ing itself  or  at  the  picture  thus  conjured  up.  But 
he  said  no  more  just  then,  and  the  two  walked  on  in 
silence.  They  were  upon  the  wharf  now,  which  lay 
cold  and  pale  in  the  dim  starlight.  To  Mr.  de  Lacey 
the  scene  was  one  of  consummate  dreariness,  so 
strongly  does  the  temper  of  the  mind  color  even 
inanimate  nature.  The  river  spread  out  black  be- 
fore them;  there  was  an  odor  of  salt  water,  wet 
wood  and  tar  intermingled.  Save  for  an  occasional 
light  gleaming  out  from  a  vessel  at  anchor,  that 
vast  sheet  of  water  might  have  been  a  desert  plain. 

"There's  the  brigantine,  yonder,"  said  Great- 
P^teh,  pointing  with  one  thick  and  grimy  finger; 

The  Mermaid,'  Rogers  Master.  A  rough  voyage 
he  had  of  it  last  time.  He  was  chased  by  a  French 
privateer.    He  struck  a  great  gale  of  wind  off  Sandy 


'I' 


ft : ', 
I 


210    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

Hook,  which  carried  away  his  boom  and  washed 
three  able-bodied  men  overboard." 

He  still  assumed  that  his  companion  was  about 
to  embark  on  "The  Mermaid,"  and  turned  m  that 
direction.  In  fact,  Mr.  de  Lacey's  destmation  was 
far  other.  He  was  going  to  board  a  small  sloop, 
which  lay  quietly  at  anchor  at  the  foot  of  the  Smith  s 
Vly  and  which  was  to  take  him  to  the  Colony  of 
Massachusetts.  It  was  highly  important  that  his 
place  of  refuge  should  be  secret  from  all  but  his 
two  or  three  staunch  friends,  and  for  this  tavern 
brawler,  this  smuggler,  to  gain  any  kiiowledge 
whatsoever  of  his  movements,  was  something  to  be 
prevented  at  all  hazards.  He  might,  he  feared,  even 
be  obUged  on  some  pretence  or  another  to  abandon 
for  the  nonce  his  plan  of  escape.  As  it  seemed  hkely 
that  Greatbatch,  who  did  not  appear  to  be  gomg 
anywhere  in  particular  and  was  full  of  cunosity, 
might  insist  on  seeing  him  aboard  ship,  Mr.  de  Lacey 
suddenly  stopped:  . .   „^     •„  .     r      i 

"Captain  Greatbatch,"  he  said,  "I  will  be  frank 
with  you.  As  I  am  leaving  Manhattan  with  no 
charge  against  me,  nor  even  a  suspicion  of  bemg 
involved  in  smuggUng  operations,  it  is  of  the  greatest 
moment  to  me  that  I  should  not  appear  in  your  com- 

^^oi-  an  instant  the  coarse  face  of  Greatbatch  grew 
purple  with  indignation,  and  his  bristUng  eyebrows 
were  drawn  down  in  a  scowl.  But  whether  froin 
policy  or  because  the  words  tickled  his  sense  ot 
humor,  he  burst  into  a  laugh.  Giving  Mr  de  Lacey 
a  push,  which  at  another  time  would  have  been 
highly  resented  by  that  gentleman,  he  cned: 

''Go  your  ways,  then.    Tom  Greatbatch  thrusts 
his  company  on  no  man.    No,  by  the  Lord  Harry! 


AN  UNWELCOME  MEETING        211 

he  don't.  Nor  is  Rogers  Master  overfond  of  me, 
though  he  might  want  me  yet  to  get  his  chestnuts 
out  of  the  fire." 

"Good-bye,  then,"  said  Mr.  de  Lacey  gaily,  add- 
ing, though  he  well  knew  the  uselessness  of  such 
counsel:  "Mum's  the  word!" 

"Mum's  the  word!"  repeated  Greatbatch. 

Great  batch  looked  after  the  retreating  figure  ap- 
parently heading  for  "The  Mermaid." 

"Mum's  the  word,  till  it  suits  Tom  Greatbatch 
to  open  his  lips.  There's  your  canting  Christian 
for  you  and,  as  some  folks  say,  a  pestilent  Papist. 
Thick  as  thieves  he  used  to  be  up  yonder  at  the 
Fort  with  Dongan  and  the  Mass  priests,  when  I  was 
shipping  for  my  first  cruise.  And  now  doin'  his  bit 
o'  tradin'  on  the  quiet,  I  make  no  doubt  like  the 
rest  o'  the  gentles;  keepin'  the  bread  out  of  us  poor 
men's  mouths  and  sneakin'  away  when  the  chase 
grows  hot." 

He  would  like  to  have  gone  down  and  interviewed 
the  skipper  of  that  vessel  by  which  he  supposed 
Mr.  de  Lacey  to  be  about  to  sail.  But  he  had  his 
own  reasons,  growing  out  of  his  various  practices, 
for  giving  Rogers  Master  and  other  honest  seamen 
a  wide  berth.  The  brigantine  consequently  weighed 
anchor  without  Greatbatch  being  any  the  wiser  and 
without  having  on  board  one  Gerald  de  Lacey, 
Gentleman,  late  Major  of  Hussars.  And  a  few 
moments  later,  in  a  spanking  breeze  and  headed  for 
Long  Island  Sound,  sailed  the  sloop,  "Anna  Maria," 
Jenkins  Master,  upon  which  had  really  embarked  a 
fugitive  from  persecuting  laws. 


iiv,« 


P!    ; 


CHAPTER  X 

HUSBAND  AKD  WIFE 

OITTING  on  the  porch  Wore  his  house  Mid 
S  smoldnl   an   evening   pipe   in   toteably   close 
^oxhSw  to  the  de  Laceys-  dwelling.  Mjmheer  de 
V  ™as  the  first  to  notice  that  it  was  untenanted 
Se  «rfrom  his  chair  and.  still  ^molong   stroUed 
down  the  street  for  a  cautious  survey  of  his  n'ngh 
w'<;  nremises      He  stood  outside  the  gate,  ana 
Sowed  to  eTes  to  wander  over  the  lovely  pro  usion 
Ke  eS    They  noted  that  the  study  window 
wa^  doS  and  that  no  gleam  of  Ught  came  through 
S  or  CTaxiny.     Though    the   observer  was  not 
SdUy  suStible  to  outward  impressions  he  was 
cMsaLs  of  that  indescribable  sense  of  blanlmes.. 
o?  lonetoi  that  belongs  to  a  habitation  whence 
human  presence  has  been  withdrawn.     Mynheer 
w3  to  be  certain  of  the  fact,  and  softly  unlatdbed 
ThTgSden  gate  and  entered.    He  walked  from  Path 
to  oaS^  unTJndful  of  the  sweet  fragrance  of  the 
?ow^f '  He^Sew  close  to  the  house,  andpeered 
Ktetagh  the  smaUest  crack  that  the  closed  shut- 
ters^orfed.    The  aspect  of  the  study  proved  con- 
SciSS^o  his  mind  tlmt  Gerald  de  Lacey's  absence 

was  more  than  temporary.  

^^  was  at  the  Tedding."  mused  the  mquisitor 
"I  ^w^  spoke  to  him.  but  I  have  not  seen  him 


HUSBAND  AND  WIFE 


213 


since,  and  here  is  the  house  closed  up.  Now,  why 
this  sudden  departure?" 

He  looked  carefully  all  over  the  exterior  of  the 
house,  as  though  he  expected  that  an  answer  might 
be  forthcoming  from  the  four  walls.  He  knew  that 
Mistress  Evelyn  de  Lacey  had  been  visiting  the  Van 
Cortlandts  for  some  days  previous  to  the  wedding, 
and  would  probably  remain  for  a  few  days  after- 
wards with  the  grandmother.  This  was  quite  nat- 
ural and  to  be  expected.  But  where  were  the 
father  and  the  servants?  The  two  negroes,  mother 
and  daughter,  who  did  the  work  of  the  cottage, 
were  not  slaves.  The  younger,  Elsa,  had  long  been 
Mistress  Evelyn's  maid  and  personal  attendant,  as 
the  mother  had  been  her  nurse.  By  a  sudden  in- 
spiration Mynheer  went  round  to  the  kitchen  door; 
it  was  locked.  He  looked  in  the  kitchen  window; 
all  V  as  dark  and  still.  That  settled  the  matter  to 
the  mind  of  the  inquirer.  If  the  master  of  the  house 
were  expected  back  shortly,  the  servants  would  not 
have  gone.  For  the  elder  woman  in  particular  rarely 
stirred  from  her  comfortable  quarters. 

Mynheer  de  Vries  returned  thoughtfully  along 
the  darkening  street  to  his  own  mansion.  Through 
the  window  he  could  see  his  wife,  who  was  fat  and 
went  seldom  abroad  knitting  near  a  marble-topped 
tabic. 

"In  the  ordinary  course  of  events,"  reflected 
Mynheer,  as  he  ascended  the  steps  to  the  porch, 
"de  Lacey  would  have  notified  me,  as  his  nearest 
neighbor,  of  his  departure  and  have  asked,  I  opine, 
my  good  offices  for  the  protection  of  his  property, 
and  even  perchance  of  uis  daughter,  though  that 
would  be  the  affair  of  the  Van  Cortlandt  family." 

He  tried  to  solve  the  problem,  and,  in  his  impatient 


:(   I  " 


i 


214    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

curiosity,  felt  resentful  towards  his  wife  because 
she  sat  so  placidly  in  her  chair.  He  had  an  angry 
feeling  that  he  would  like  to  drag  her  thence  into  the 
swift  current  of  public  affairs  The  feeling  was  but 
n'omentary.  She  was  better  as  she  was,  and  in- 
finitely less  troublesome  to  him,  than  if  she  were  one 
of  these  meddlesome  women,  who,  from  the  first 
days  of  the  Colony,  had  taken  a  leading  part  in 
colonial  affairs  and  had  pulled  many  a  political 
string.  Mynheer  stroked  his  chin,  as  he  often  did 
when  troubled,  and  thus  cogitated: 

"How  has  de  Lacey  got  hirtiself  involved,  and  in 
what?  If  it  be  in  trading  operations,  what  does  he 
know  and  how  much  might  he  cell,  if  Ws  whereabouts 
were  to  be  discovered?" 

The  true  reason  for  Mr.  de  Lacey's  departure  did 
not  occur  to  him.  He  had  not  been  in  the  colony 
in  Dongan's  time,  and  had  never  chanced  to  hear 
much  of  his  neighbor's  personal  history  or  of  his 
close  connection  with  the  Catholic  Governor.  He 
himself  was  very  moderately  interested  in  religious 
affairs,  and  was  ready  to  "sneeze  with  the  Dominies" 
only  in  so  far  as  that  nasal  exercise  was  expedient. 
He  had  no  fear  of  Popery.  He  never  thought  of  it 
at  all,  and  so  had  never  imagined  the  de  Laceys  or 
any  others  of  his  own  circle  coming  imder  the  anti- 
Popery  laws. 

The  only  possible  alternative  to  complicity  in 
smuggling  operations  was  a  too  pronounced  activity 
on  the  anti-Leislerian  side  of  the  great  controversy, 
though,  in  truth,  he  could  not  recall  a  single  instance 
where  his  neighbor  had  meddled  with  present-day 
politics,  or  t^en  any  public  part  in  the  troubles 
that  marked  the  whole  course  of  Lord  Bellomont's 
administration.    Still,  he  thought,  it  might  be  quite 


te 


HUSBAND  AND  WIFE 


"S 


possible  that,  though  living  a  very  quiet  life,  he  had 
made  himself  in  some  way  obnoxious  to  the  Governor 
and  his  chief  advisers,  who  were  frankly  Leislerian, 
because  of  his  and  his  daughter's  intimacy  with  the 
Van  Cortlandts  and  others  of  the  aristocratic  party. 
This  supposition  was  more  agreeable  to  Mynheer 
than  the  other.  He  himself  had  maintained  a  very 
safe  attitude  of  neutrality  between  the  parties.  He 
was  as  friendly  with  Samuel  Staats  or  Abraham  de 
Peyster  as  with  Nicholas  Bayard,  Pieter  Schuyler 
or  Stephen  Van  Cortlandt.  But,  in  so  far  as  il- 
licit trading  with  Greatbatch  or  others  of  his  kidney 
was  concerned,  things  were  very  different.  Mynheer 
was  here  deeply  involved.  He  had  allowed  his  ha- 
bitual caution  to  fly  to  the  winds  in  his  passion  for 
gain.  He  was  fairly  consumed  by  the  desire  to  make 
money,  for  acquisitiveness  was  the  dominant  note  of 
his  character.  He  had,  therefore,  good  reason  to  feel 
uneasy.  If  Mr.  de  Lacey  had  really  been  obliged 
to  leave  Manhattan  for  reasons  connected  with  il- 
licit traffic,  it  might  very  well  become  necessary  for 
Mynheer  also  to  take  the  road.  For  it  was  likely, 
from  all  the  circumstances,  that  his  own  operations 
had  been  on  a  far  larger  scale  than  anything  that 
could  have  been  attempted  by  de  Lacey.  Also,  the 
fugitive  might  very  well  have  been  informed  by 
Greatbatch  and  others  of  the  wary  merchant's  con- 
nection with  smugglers  and  their  doings.  If  then 
it  chanced  that  he  were  recaptured,  might  he  not 
be  tempted  to  make  revelations  which,  incriminating 
others,  would  save  himself?  Mynheer,  smoking 
vigorously,  pondered  on  what  kind  of  man  de 
Lacey  really  was,  but  could  not  come  to  any  de- 
cision, so  apart  were  the  two  men  in  character  as  in 
standards  of  conduct.    One  thing  alone  became  clear 


1^ 


r^-: 


2i6    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

to  his  mind,  and  that  was  that  the  secret  of  his 
neighbor's  absence  must  be  kept  as  long  as  possible. 
He  himself  would  do  aU  in  his  power  to  mamtain 
such  secrecy,  and  thus  lessen  the  chances  of  his  cap- 
ture and  the  possible  revelations  that  might  foUow. 
And  this  determination  on  his  part  was  the  eaaer 
inasmuch  as  he  had  a  certain  amount  of  friendly 
feeling  towards  the  late  inhabitants  of  the  cottage 
and  a  profound  admiration  for  Mistress  Eyel^ 
and  for  the  social  success  which  she  had  attamed. 
In  any  case,  the  attitude  that  he  took  was  a  provi- 
dential circumstance  for  the  de  Laceys.  Otherwise 
Myrfieer,  who  was  no  Uttle  of  a  gossip  and  usuaUy 
well-informed  as  to  what  was  passing  in  the  town, 
might  very  well  have  thrown  out  hints  m  the  tav- 
erns, or  whispered  in  the  drawing-rooms  that  a 
prominent  resident  of  Manhattan  had  disappeared. 

Mynheer  further  resolved  to  find  out  what  he 
could  of  the  causes  that  led  to  such  disappearance. 
He  promised  himself  to  sound  Greatbatch,  who 
could  be  brutally  frank  at  times,  and  to  hsten  to 
the  talk  of  the  seafaring  frequenters  of  Der  Halle. 
He  even  determined  to  address  a  few  discreet  hnes 
to  Mistress  Evelyn  de  Lacey,  whom  he  had  long  re- 
garded approvingly  as  a  distinct  asset  to  then: 
neighborhood,  volunteering  his  assistance  m  case 
of  need.  This,  he  considered,  would  please  the  Van 
Cortlandts.  He  considered  it  a  grievance  that  he 
should  be  no  longer  able  to  catch  glimpses  of  Evelyn 
at  her  work  in  her  garden  or  passing  up  and  down 
the  street.  Mynheer  had  always  been  an  adnurer 
of  beauty,  and  his  own  "gude  Vrow"  had  long  since 
passed  the  stage  when  she  was  agreeable  to  the  eye. 
Her  virtues  or  her  qualifications  were  certainly  not 
of  an  ornamental  character.   Mynheer  could  scarcely 


HUSBAND  AND  WIFE 


217 


conceal  from  himself  the  conviction  that  she  was  a 
blot  on  the  landscap.  Hence  he  had  pennitted 
himself,  alwc/s  within  the  bounds  of  discretion,  to 
find  a  refreEhmt  nt  to  thfi  eye  and  a  solace  to  the  spuit 
in  observing  their  fair  neighbor. 

He  wjnt  into  the  house  after  this  exhaustive  re- 
view of  ihe  subject,  and  carefully  inspected  the 
rich  furnishings  of  the  place,  as  if  he  had  never  seen 
them  before:  the  silk  damask  curtains,  the  rich 
carpets,  the  flowered  tabby  chimney-cloth,  the  vel- 
vet arm-chairs,  with  trimmings  of  silver  lace.  And, 
though  he  did  not  go  upstairs  to  inspect  his  own  and 
his  Wife's  wardrobe,  where  rich  silks,  satins  and 
brocades  abounded;  though  he  did  not  descend  into 
the  cellar  to  visit  the  ample  store  of  wines,  he  men- 
tally appraised  all  these  things,  and  knew  how  much 
he  was  indebted  to  Greatbatch  and  his  like  for  such 
luxuries.  As  an  embargo  was  laid  on  nearly  all 
foreign  goods  by  the  home  government,  his  mansion 
and  many  a  mansion  in  Manhattan  woidd  other- 
wise have  been  bare  indeed.  For  even  the  wealth 
that  he  had  acquired  would  not  have  been  sufficient 
to  provide  ,0  many  luxuries  by  legitimate  means. 

Vrow  de  Vries  watched  her  husband,  in  placid 
wonderment,  as  he  made  the  tour  of  the  room.  She 
sincerely  hoped  he  would  find  there  no  speck  of 
dust,  which  would  be  sure  to  annoy  him  exceedingly. 
For  she  was  not  the  housekeeper  that  she  had  been, 
and  even  the  best  of  slaves  were  not  always  to  be 
trusted.  On  this  occasion,  however,  either  the  slaves 
had  done  their  work  efficiently,  or  Mynheer  was  too 
preoccupied  to  notice. 

"I  owe  something  to  Greatbatch,"  Mynheer  re- 
marked at  last,  sinking  into  one  of  the  Russian 
leather  chairs,  which  he  used  in  preference  to  those 


218    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

of  velvet  with  silver  lace,  the  latter  being  chiefly 
for  ornament. 

Vrow  de  Vries  raised  her  large,  heavy-lidded  eyes: 

"Not  a  heavy  sum,  I  do  trust,"  she  exclaimed. 

Mynheer  waved  his  hand.  "No  sum  of  money  at 
all,"  he  returned  curtly.  "I  was  thinking  of  other 
tilings,  and  it  might  be  as  well  if  you  did  not  in- 
terrupt me." 

His  voice  was  a  shade  less  cool  and  quiet  than 
when  in  company.  His  wife's  knitting-needles 
clicked  as  a  sign  that  her  share  in  the  conversation 
was  concluded.  But  the  name  of  Greatbatch  awak- 
ened disagreeable  recollections  in  her  mind.  She 
remembered  a  great,  uncouth  fellow,  who  had  come 
liin'bering  in,  with  his  smell  of  tar  and  with  big 
rnuddy  boots.  These  latter  had  been  the  occasion 
of  a  severe  scolding  to  herself  from  Mynheer.  She 
had  not  noted  the  muddy  tracks  in  time  to  have 
them  removed,  and  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  and  her 
granddaughter  had  inopportunely  happened  in  for 
an  afternoon  call.  The  good  Vrow  sighed,  and  her 
husband  moved  impatiently.  He  disliked  those 
audible  sighs,  yawns  and  other  signs  of  inward  dis- 
comfort, in  wluch  his  wife  indulged.  She  had  not, 
it  must  be  owned,  a  manner  such  as  Mynheer  had 
carefully  cultivated.  He  had  married  her,  the  daugh- 
ter of  a  small  shop-keeper  in  Salem,  a  town  in  the 
neighboring  Colony  of  Massachusetts.  That  was 
before  prosperity  had  overtaken  him  on  the  way 
of  life.  The  two  had  been  happy  so  long  as  the 
Vrow  kept  her  good  looks,  and  before  Mynheer  had 
made  money,  chiefly  through  those  very  trading 
operations  which  now  kept  him  in  fear 

De  Vries  had  come  to  Manhattan,  and  bought 
this  fine  mansion  of  the  late  distinguished  citizen. 


HUSBAND  AND  WIFE  3,9 

Comeljus  Steenwyck,  and,  as  it  micht  he  «tH 
stepped  into  the  Jioes  of  the  owier  fdng  rd^^ 
distantly  to  one  of  the  leading  Dutch  fS« 
Mynheer  was  received  into  sodety.  althoSThe 

Zut"^*^^  \''r^'''  "^i  P*^'"  knew  Uttll 
about  hun     He  had  a  smooth  and  easy  manner 

Sf,^,%i!.v'y  °^  ^r'?'"^  ^'  friction.^i(S^^v^ 
hmi  a  factitious  popularity.  He  became  an  impoS 
man  in  many  directions,  taking  part,  as  Steenwvck 
mad? r^f '"  ^  "7\^!L'«.  «nd^had  rlc^Sy"^ 
'^^''^^^^^^<iii}^.Co^cil.  He  was  regarded 
as  a  pubhc-spinted  citizen  and  one  of  fine  inteUi- 

TrTr^'^  v>'*i  "^^^^^  "^"«  avoiding  the  Scylla 
and  Charybdis  of  partisan  politics,  he  wis  an  arttent 
supporter  of  William  of  Orange,  especially  whS  hi 

teTIhrS,'^'  "^"^  °^  h  Sent^Tme,^ 
bers  of  the  Governor's  Household.    He  was  a  wel- 

'XtT.n'"  n  !l°'?  P"**=^  ^^  E«8Ush  housi. 
folfrl      H        *?t  fine  society  his  wife  could  not 
follow      Her  avoirdupois  alone  would  have  been 

bl^'sL5r^,'.T  ^i  ^"  '"^^^  ^d  deportS 
wV  K  ^  i?,'^  ^""  recognition.  And.  though 
her  husband  did  not  neglect  her  any  further  thS 

t^vL  f '  u  °^S2™^  '"°'^  exacting  and  more  ahve 
to  her  faults.    The  woman  felt  that  he  was  being 

which  could  not  be  bridged  over.  Beneath  all  h^ 
pkadity,  she  pondered  in  a  dull,  brooding  way 

IhZr^FI^?^-  .^^^  ^^^  ^^^  society  wWA 
^„^  !^  ^^  husband,  and  would  have  liked  to  be 
revenged  upon  it.  She  never  expressed  such  thought 
hu^llirr^'  ^l-.^th  all  his  astuteness,  he^ 
husband  had  no  suspicion  of  their  existence. 
JNor  did  de  Vnes  know  that  his  wife  cherished  a 


aio    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

particular  ){nidge  against  Evelyn  de  Lacey  for  no 
other  reason  than  that  she  had  often  heard  her  com- 
mended by  Mynheer,  and  had  herself  seen  with  her 
dull  eyes  how  well  those  commendations  were  mer- 
ited. Often,  when  her  husband  was  out,  she  had 
stolen  to  the  window  to  watch  the  girl  at  work  in 
the  garden  or  passing  the  house.  It  is  true  that  she 
discounted  these  perfections,  which  were  so  far  re- 
moved from  her  own  style  of  good  looks— at  least, 
from  those  which  she  had  possessed  in  her  youth. 
Yet,  something  within  her  slow  consciousness  as- 
sured her  that  the  praise?  bestowed  upon  Evelyn 
were  less  than  she  deserved.  Sometimes,  when  in  a 
particularly  bitter  mood,  she  used  to  amuse  herself 
by  imagining  accidents  by  which  the  girl's  beauty 
might  t«  destroyed.  She  would  imagine  a  scar  which 
woijd  disfigure,  a  thrust  that  might  put  out  one  of 
the  eyes,  a  scorching  fire  that  wotild  bum  away  the 
lustrous  hair  end  the  little  ringlets  that  played  so 
fascinatingly  around  Evelyn's  face,  an  injury  to  the 
spine  to  cause  a  sioop,  rheumatism  to  cripple  the 
graceful  movements,  unsightly  bums  to  mar  the 
symmetry  of  the  slender  hands.  Any  or  all  of  these 
things  would  alence  her  husband's  eulogies  of  the 
girl  and  prevent  her  being  held  up  as  a  mirror  of 
perfections.  Not  that  Vrow  de  Vries  would  have 
herself  inflicted  any  of  these  injuries,  for  she  was 
incapable  of  physical  violence.  But  she  would  have 
been  well  content  if  such  things  had  happened  "by 
the  visitation  of  the  Lord,"  or  in  any  other  conceiv- 
able way. 

Mynheer,  perturbed  and  busy  with  his  own 
thoughts,  little  imagined  the  turmoil  that,  under 
that  placid  exterior  in  the  arm-chair,  raged  more 
fiercely  than  any  storm  his  own  nature  could  know. 


HUSBAND  AND  WIFE  321 

"Should  de  Lacey  be  involved,"  Mynheer  said, 
spealdtig  aloud  as  he  sometimes  did  in  moments  of 
abstraction,  "it  may  fare  ill  with  Mistress  Evelyn. 
Her  great  beauty  might  not  avail  her  there." 

"Her  great  beauty!"  The  words  were  as  a  torch 
to  set  on  fire  those  combustible  materials  that  were 
smouldering  within  the  listener.  The  knitting- 
needles  were  still  an  instant. 

"If  you  were  but  a  widower,  de  Vries,"  said  a 
voice  from  the  arm-chair,  "this  Mistress  Evelyn 
might  be  added  to  the  other  fine  furniture  of  the 
house." 

Mynheer,  turning,  regarded  his  wife  with  eyes 
wide  open  in  astonishment.  Then,  nearly  closing 
them  as  he  watched  her: 

"She  might  or  she  might  not  be,"  he  responded 
sententiously.  "She  soars  high,  that  bird  of  Para- 
dise, or  I  am  much  mistaken." 

Observing  the  dull  crimson  flush  that  mantled 
the  heavy,  faded  cheeks,  he  added: 

"Were  I  in  the  market,  good  Vrow,  I  should  bar- 
gain for  more  costly  wares — such  wares,  I  mean,  as 
would  pay  for  themselves.  Mistress  Polly  Van 
Cortlandt,  now  Vrow  Laurens,  would  have  suited 
me  better  on  all  accounts." 

The  raging  fire  was  calmed  a  little  by  this  declar- 
ation, which  the  wife  intuitively  knew  to  be  the 
truth.  Her  husband  was  not  one  to  repeat  the  mis- 
take of  his  earlier  life  and  marry  a  penniless  girl. 
Mynheer,  still  keeping  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  heavy 
face  and  shapeless  figure,  said: 

"So,  poor  fool,  you  are  beginning  to  repine  that 
the  Lord  has  taken  from  you  such  measure  of  beauty 
as  you  had.  For  you  were  a  comely  wench,  Marije, 
when  I  married  you,  or  the  wed(^g  would  never 


:.H| 


^:W 


I  'J 


822    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

have  taken  place.  And  you  cannot  say  but  that  I 
have  held  to  the  bargain." 

"Yes,"  the  wife  said,  "you  have  held  to  the  bar- 
gain because  you  were  afraid  to  lose  the  good 
opinion  of  yovi  fine  friends." 

He  knew  that  there  was  a  modictun  of  truth  in 
what  she  said,  though  he  took  credit  to  himself  that 
that  had  not  been  his  only  reason.  He  remarked 
quite  veraciously  now: 

"I  would  that  I  had  nothing  but  the  women, 
plain  or  beautiful,  to  disturb  my  thoughts.  So,  if 
your  mind  be  running  in  thdt  groove,  you  may  save 
yourself  the  trouble.  Beauties  to  me  are  but  pic- 
tures, a  pleasant  part  of  the  landscape." 

He  waved  his  hand  to  indicate  the  wide  freedom 
of  his  thoughts,  and  in  fact  spoke  the  truth,  for  am- 
bition, gre^  of  gain  and  the  desire  to  appear  well 
in  society  were  his  master  passions.  Nor  was  he  al- 
together dissatisfied  with  his  wife,  who  had  hitherto 
played  with  tolerable  skill  the  part  of  housewife, 
and  who  had  never  until  that  day,  so  far  as  he  knew, 
troubled  her  head  about  his  outside  affairs.  It 
was  a  noticeable  fact,  nevertheless,  that  never 
thereafter  did  he  speak  in  his  wife's  hearing  of 
Evelyn  de  Lacey.   A  word  to  the  wise  was  sufficient. 


CHAPTER  XI 
PROSSBR  Williams'  sesolvb 

THE  dajrs  that  followed  the  wedding  were  sin- 
gularly lonely  for  Evelyn.  Save  Madam  Van 
Cortlandt,  there  was  scarcely  anyone  with  whom  she 
could  exchange  a  word.  Polly  had  been  removed 
from  the  scene,  accompanying  her  husband  on  a 
trip  into  the  neighboring  Colony  of  Pennsylvania, 
where  they  were  to  remain  a  month  at  least.  Even 
the  town  of  Manhattan  seemed,  in  so  far  as  its  social 
side  was  concerned,  to  be  suffering  a  reaction  after 
the  excitement  of  the  wedding.  Evelyn  kept  as 
much  as  possible  aloof  from  the  various  yoimg  girls 
of  her  circle,  with  whom  she  was  more  or  less  inti- 
mate, lest  questions  might  be  asked  concerning  her 
father.  The  loss  of  his  companionship  was  most 
pievous  to  her.  She  missed  his  bright,  half-whim- 
sical conversation,  his  interest  in  all  her  ^airs,  and 
the  home  life  now  so  sadly  interrupted  without  any 
definite  prospect  of  being  resumed.  Her  anxiety 
for  him  often  kept  her  awake  at  night,  as  she  pic- 
tured him  in  the  loneliness  of  his  exile,  and  perlwps 
in  deadly  peril  of  his  life.  For  the  first  weeks  she 
made  her  unwillingness  to  leave  Madam  Van  Cort- 
landt an  excuse  for  absenting  herself  from  the  dances 
and  assemblies  at  various  houses,  which  she  had 
previously  much  enjoyed.    But  her  hostess  was  of 


224    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

opinion  that  such  a  course  of  action,  if  long  persisted 
in,  might  draw  upon  her  the  suspicion  of  the  curious 
or  ill-natured.  It  would  be  wiser  to  act  in  all  re- 
spects as  she  had  acted  before,  and,  if  questions 
were  asked  concerning  her  father,  it  might  be  replied 
that  he  had  gone  away  on  business. 

Hence  it  was  that,  with  a  heavy  heart  and  the 
shadow  of  a  great  fear  obscuring  her  usual  bright- 
ness, Evelyn  began  to  participate  once  more  in  all 
the  gay  doings  of  the  town — much  to  the  delight  of 
Pieter  Schuyler,  who  was  unwearied  in  his  attentions 
to  her.  No  less  intense  was  tlje  gratification  afforded 
by  her  presence  to  Prosser  Williams,  for  he  was  thus 
enabled  to  press  his  unwelcome  attentions  upon  her, 
all  the  more  so  as  Captain  Ferrers  had  been  obliged 
to  accompany  Lord  Bellomont  on  a  visit  to  his  gov- 
ernment of  Massachusetts.  It  may  well  be  recorded 
here  that  His  Excellency  was  always  received  with 
great  enthusiasm  in  those  parts,  where  he  was  more 
popular  than  in  New  York.  On  the  occasion  of 
that  particular  visit,  a  banquet  was  held  in  his  honor, 
and  a  presentation  made  to  him  of  many  pounds  in 
gold,  which  was  highly  acceptable  to  his  depleted 
treasury. 

Though  fully  aware  that  Prosser  Williams  had 
been  the  author  of  all  her  father's  troubles  and  the 
cause  of  his  flight,  Evelyn  was  nevertheless  compelled 
through  motives  of  policy  to  conceal  her  repulsion 
as  best  she  covdd,  and  avoid  making  an  open  enemy 
of  one  whom  die  knew  to  be  secretly  inimical.  She 
had  the  distressing  consciousness  that  he  had  been 
only  holding  back  his  hand  against  her  father  and 
herself  out  of  his  professed  admiration  for  her. 
Captain  Ferrers  had  feared  that  he  was  going  to 
proceed  to  extremities  and  arrest  her  father,  which 


PROSSER  WILLIAMS'  RESOLVE      225 

indeed  was  part  of  a  skilfully  constructed  plan. 
But  that  first  part  of  the  scheme  had  failed  of  its 
operation  because  Prosser  Williams  on  the  occasion 
of  the  wedding  was  so  struck  anew  by  Evelyn's 
beauty  and  chann  that  he  detennined,  if  he  could, 
to  win  her  by  fair  means  in  the  absence  of  Egbert 
Ferrers.  If  these  means  failed,  then  he  was  prepared 
to  go  any  lengths.  He  had  made  up  his  mind  to 
marry  her,  bitterly  as  his  friends  in  England  would 
resent  his  union  with  a  penniless  girl.  He  had  thrown 
all  other  thoughts  to  the  wind;  his  cold  and  cal- 
culating nature  was  inflamed  t  rough  and  through 
with  an  ardor  which  he  would  have  hitherto  deemed 
impossible. 

To  Evelyn  it  was  no  little  of  a  trial  to  be  forced 
to  take  the  man's  hand  and  tread  with  liim  the 
measure  of  "La  Belle  Katherine,"  "Money  Musk" 
or  the  "Maid  of  the  Mill."  She  listened  with  in- 
ward loathing  to  the  exaggerated  compliments  which 
he  believed  all  women  desired.  In  an  endeavor  to 
be  agreeable,  the  unwelcome  suitor  comported  him- 
self generally  in  a  manner  which  caused  Evelyn  to 
detest  and  despise  him.  So  fatuous  was  this  fine 
gentleman,  who  had  been  spoiled  by  the  notice  of 
many  fashionable  dames,  that  he  fancied  he  was 
making  progress  because  the  girl  did  not  actually 
repulse  him.  He  began  to  plume  himself  upon  his 
success,  and,  as  he  went  superciliously  about  the 
streets  of  the  town  with  an  insolence  which  made 
him  universally  impopular,  he  indulged  in  various 
soliloquies,  some  of  which  were  addressed  to  Gerald 
de  Lacey. 

"My  fine  fellow,  you  will  feel  my  hand  one  of 
these  days,  unless  Mistress  Evelyn  can  be  brought 
to  terms.    If  she  consents,  I  will  do  her  the  honor  to 


lill" 


226    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

many  her,  and  a  good  thing  it  will  be  for  her  to  get 
out  of  this  beggarly  colony,  as  soon  as  my  time  is  up. 
If  she  refuses" — ^he  clenched  his  hand  and  a  dark 
look  came  over  his  face — "if  she  refuses,  I  will  bring 
you  both  down  with  the  same  shot." 

Musing  thus,  he  went  to  Der  Halle  to  keep  an 
appointment  with  Captain  Greatbatch  at  an  hour 
when  he  knew  that  only  the  habitues  of  the  place 
would  be  present.  He  frequented  the  tavern  be- 
cause he  liked  to  indulge  there,  as  he  might  not  do 
elsewhere,  that  passion  for  gambling  by  which  he 
had  dissipated  quite  a  respectable  fortune  in  Eng- 
land. These  losses  had  induced  him  to  accept  a 
position  in  His  Excellency's  Household,  and,  leaving 
the  riotous  company  which  he  had  affected  in  Lon- 
don, to  come  out  to  the  colonies.  Almost  since  his 
arrival  he  had  deaUngs  with  Greatbatch  and  a 
finger  in  that  notorious  smuggler's  pie.  By  this 
means  he  hoped  to  retrieve  his  fortune  and  secure 
a  goodly  pile,  which,  on  his  return  to  England,  he 
might  spend  in  his  former  extravagant  fashion. 
However,  in  this  place  where,  like  Lady  Bellomont, 
he  considered  himself  an  exile,  fate  haJ  smitten  him 
in  the  form  of  a  penniless  girl,  and  cried  halt  to  all 
his  calculations.  Greatbatch,  on  his  part,  had 
counted  much  on  the  young  man's  influence,  which 
he  beUeved  had  kept  him  unscathed  during  these 
days  so  troublous  for  one  of  his  profession.  He 
treated  him,  therefore,  with  an  almost  servile  defer- 
ence, though  he  was  well  aware  that  the  Captain 
was  to  a  certain  extent  in  his  power,  since  he  coidd 
at  least  injure  and  discredit  him  by  makii  g  use  of 
the  knowledge  he  possessed.  The  young  officer  was 
partly  misled  by  this  servility  as  to  the  real  char- 
acter of  the  man,  which  was  a  mixture  of  cunning 


PROSSER  WILLIAMS'  RESOLVE      227 

and  brutality.     He  treated  him  accordingly  with 
arrogance  and  ill-concealed  contempt. 

Having  ascertained  by  careful  scrutiny  from  with- 
out that  ttiere  was  no  one  of  consequence  present. 
Prosser  Wilhams  passed  through  the  room  with  a 
curt  nod  to  mine  host,  who  seemed  to  expand  in 
girth  and  m  geniality  with  every  passing  day.  He 
seated  hunself  at  a  remote  table  with  Greatbatch 
and  began  to  converse  in  low  tones  with  the  man, 
whom  he  regarded  merely  as  a  pliant  tool.  Their 
talk  at  first  was  chiefly  of  matters  of  trade,  in  which 
Prosser  Willmms  showed  the  keenness  of  a  huckster, 
tor,  where  his  own  advantage  was  concerned,  he 
could  dnve  the  hardest  of  bargains.  But  there  was 
something  else  that  evening  on  which  he  desired  to 
sound  Greatbatch.  He  had  long  had  it  in  mind  as 
one  of  his  schemes  that,  all  else  failing,  he  might 
contnve  to  have  Evelyn  conveyed  on  board  the 
bngantme  Hesperia,"  of  which  this  fellow  was 
master,  and  sail  away  to  some  distant  port  where  he 
could  force  his  captive  to  n^  wry  him.  Such  things 
were  common  enough,  and  would  cause,  when  all 
was  over,  only  a  nine-days'  wonder.  He  counted 
much  on  his  own  influence  with  the  Governor,  and 
the  influence  of  his  highly  connected  relatives  in 
tnglaad,  to  help  him  to  weather  the  storm,  which 
he  did  not  conceal  from  himself  would  be  raised 
not  only  by  the  girl's  father,  but  by  the  Van  Cort- 
landts  and  other  influential  Colonials.  Still,  he 
could  finaUy  represent  the  affair  as  a  romantic  es- 
capade, and  Evelyn,  once  securely  in  his  power, 
would  have  to  support  him  in  that  contention.  It 
would  be  made  to  appear  that  it  was  merely  an 
dopemoit  with  the  girl's  knowledge  and  cogent, 
wor  did  he  stop  to  consider  that  those  who  knew 


Irr* 


228    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

Evelyn  would  never  believe  such  a  story.  He  would 
have  a  powerful  weapon  against  the  girl  in  his 
knowledge  of  her  father's  antecedents  and  the  threat 
to  have  him  arrested  and  even— as  might  very  weU 
be— put  to  death,  should  he  make  too  great  an  out- 
cry He  would  long  ago  have  acted  against  Mr.  de 
Lacey  from  mere  hatred  of  the  Catholic  cause- 
to  which  was  added  hatred  of  the  man  who  had 
eluded  him  in  England,  and  rebuked  him  that  day 
in  his  own  garden— had  it  not  been  for  the  press^ 
which  he  hoped  to  bring  through  the  father  on  the 
daughter  to  compel  her  to  accept  his  suit. 

Of  late  he  had  shown  a  fatal  mdeasion,  wluch 
had  arisen  from  the  hope  that  Evelyn  was  beginnmg 
to  regard  him  more  favorably.  In  that  event,  ot 
course,  it  would  be  his  poUcy  to  cover  up  ^  traces 
of  the  father's  poUtical  and  religious  convictions,  tor 
these  would  constitute  obstacles  to  his  marnage  m 
the  eyes  of  his  own  relatives,  from  some  of  whom  he 
had  expectations.  He  tc!d  himself  that,  once  mar- 
ried, he  would  be  master,  and  it  would  be  easy  to 
coerce  Evelyn  into  at  least  outward  conformity  to 
the  estabUshed  reUgion.  His  thin  lips  tightened  as 
he  told  himself  that  no  wife  of  his  would  be  per- 
mitted to  profess,  much  less  to  practise,  the  Romish 
superstition,  nor  consort  with  Jesuits  or  other  dan- 
gerous characters.  Mistress  Evelyn  woidd  be  on 
a  very  different  footing  then  from  that  of  the  spoiled 
beauty  who  had  reigned  over  a  large  circle  of  Man- 
hattanese.  ,       .  •     _    u 

He  had  made  up  his  mind  that  that  evenmg  would 
be  a  fitting  opportunity  to  broach  the  subject  to 
Greatbatch,  ance  the  matter  must  be  brought  to  a 
head.  He  was  weary  of  delay,  and  it  would  be 
eaaer  to  act  in  the  absence  of  Ferrers,  m  whom  he 


PROSSER  WILLIAMS'  RESOLVE      229 

recognized,  not  only  a  formidable  rival,  but  a  possible 
circumventer  of  his  schemes.  He  had  plied  his  boon 
companion  with  rum  until  the  latter  was  in  a  state, 
not  of  irritation  as  in  the  earlier  stages  of  intoxica- 
tion, but  of  compliance.  He  leaned  his  arms  on  the 
table,  bending  confidentially  towards  the  smuggler, 
and  opened  the  subject.  He  represented  a  friend 
of  his  as  being  smitten  with  the  charms  of  a  certain 
young  lady,  whose  parents  might  oflfer  opposition 
to  the  match;  therefore,  in  the  event  of  an  elope- 
ment, could  that  friend  trust  to  Greatbatch  to  carry 
through  the  project? 

"If  the  wench  be  willing,"  said  Greatbatch,  with  a 
wink,  "it  would  be  no  great  matter." 

"But  should  she  not  be  willing?"  inquired  Wil- 
liams. 

"Ah,  that  is  a  horse  of  another  color,"  replied  the 
smuggler,  scratching  his  head;"there  would  be  the 
devil  and  all  to  pay  about  forcible  abduction." 
Then  he  added,  peering  into  his  companion's  face: 
"Tell  me.  Master,  is  she  of  the  people?" 

"No,  and  be  hanged  to  yoiu-  cursed  curiosity!" 

Greatbatch  shook  his  head  with  a  surly  scowl  at 
the  rebuff. 

^_  "If  your  friend  be  a  wise  man,"  he  declared, 
"he  will  attempt  no  such  enterprise  now,  when 
disturbances  of  all  kinds  are  rife,  and  we  drippers, 
as  it  is,  are  trembling  for  our  skins." 

"And  some  of  you  might  well  tremble,"  suggested 
Williams,  significantly,  "had  they  no  friends  at 
court,  or  if  those  friends  turned  against  them.  Then 
it  would  be  a  matter  for  the  halter  and  the  gibbet." 

He  made  an  expressive  gesture,  and  Greatbatch, 
thoroughly  alarmed,  agreed. 

"I'm  your  man  for  the  job,  whatever  it  be," 


M  ■•  'iM 


230    GERALD  DB  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

he  hastened  to  assure  the  other,  "provided  that  the 
night  be  dark  and  a  strong  wind  blowing,  with  a 
quiet  potion  for  the  maid  that  she  be  not  heard." 

There  was  something  in  these  details  which  was 
revoltir^  even  to  Prosser  Williams,  when  mentioned 
in  connection  with  Evelyn.  He  mentally  resolved 
that,  only  in  the  last  extremity,  would  he  proceed 
to  such  a  course  of  action,  and  then  it  would  be  the 
girl's  own  fault.  She  would  bring  it  on  herself, 
since  he  was  prepared  to  take  all  ch^ces  and  marry 
her  openly  and  honorably  to  his  own  great  detriment. 
So  absorbed  was  he  in  these  thdughts,  and  so  viindly 
appeared  to  his  mind  the  face  of  the  girl,  that  he 
scarcely  noticed  at  first  that  Greatbatch  was  speak- 
ing again. 

"And  I  hope  your  honor's  friend  will  remember 
that  I  am  a  poor  man,  ruined  since  the  Governor 
and  many  others  have  turned  honest." 

Prosser  Williams  frowned. 

"Shut  your  scurrilous  mouth,  you  dog,"  he  said; 
.  "such  talk  is  hanging  matter.    But,  as  to  your  gain 
in  this  business,  be  assured  it  will  pay  you  well, 
if  it  be  successful." 

i  "The  sooner  the  better  then,"  exclaimed  Great- 
batch,  animated  with  a  great  courage  from  the  rum 
he  had  been  steadily  swaUowing. 

"My  friend  will  let  you  know  all  in  good  time," 
said  WilliMis,  "if  his  fickle  fancy  does  not  change. 
And,  neanwhile,  keep  your  mouth  shut;  that  is  the 
important  matter." 

"Forwhatportwouldyourfriendwishtosail?"  in- 
quired Greatbatch,  unwilling  to  let  the  matter  be  thus 
lightly  disposed  of.  ' 'How  would  Barbadoes  suit ?  I 
have  a  mind  to  take  a  run  down  there  for  a  cargo  of 
rum,  sugar  and  spices,  all  aboveboard  and  honest." 


PROSSER  WILLIAMS'  RESOLVE      231 

.    "^^^3^  wiU  do  as  weU  as  another  place,"  re- 
turned Williams. 

"WWch  minds  me."  went  on  the  smuggler,  and 

Jt  would  be  hard  to  say  if  there  was  any  other  as- 

sooation  of  ideas  in  his  mind  than  the  mere  name 

of  the  island,    'of  a  chap  I  saw  slipping  away  to 

Barbadoes  for  reasons  of  his  own." 

"What  chap?"  asked  Williams  idly,  out  of  the 

merest  curiosity.    He  was  standing  up  with  his  hand 

on  ttie  bade  of  the  chair,  preparatory  to  departure. 

One  of  your  good  sort— canting,  hypocritical 
knaves  thqr  mostly  are;  a  bookish  feUow,  too,  but 
de^,  I  make  no  doubt,  in  matters  of  trade." 

A  booldsh  fellow,"  repeated  Williams  slowly, 
strode  by  the  expression,  and  remembering  to  have 
lieMxl  Gerald  de  Lacey  described  as  a  man  buried 
m  his  books. 

x*"'^y®'r  ^^  Greatbatch,  nodding  his  head,  "one 
Master  de  Lacey,  an  impudent  knave  with  his  nose 
high  m  the  air." 

Greatbatch  little  knew  what  a  blow  he  had  in- 
flicted by  that  idle  bit  of  gossip.  Had  he  known  he 
would  have  rejoiced. 

"De  Lacey!"  echoed  Williams,  bending  forward 
ovw  the  chair-back.  "And  did  you  say  he  had  gone 
to  Barbadoes?" 

"G<Mie  this  month  or  more,"  cried  Greatbatch, 
pleased  with  the  interest  which  he  had  exdted. 
btole  off  as  quiet  as  a  mouse,  the  night  of  the  big 
weddmg  up  yonder." 

Prosser  WiUiams  straightened  himself,  and  by  a 
violent  effort  recovered  his  composure.  That  wea- 
pon which  he  had  beUeved  would  be  most  effectual 
m  subdmng  Evelyn  was  thus  snatched  from  his 
nand.    He  had  been  fooled,  cajoled.    Even  Evdyn's 


I'll  1 


i-i 


U.'i 


I* 


232    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

apparent  civiUty  had  been,  no  doubt,  part  of  a 
plan  to  keep  him  quiet.    The  bird  had  taken  wing, 
not,  as  this  idiot,  Greatbatch,  believed,  on  account 
of  the  smuggling  operations,  but  for  those  other  and 
graver  reasons  which  would  have  made  it  possible 
for  him  to  terrorize  both  father  and  daughter.    And 
who  had  given  the  alarm?  His  mind  turned  toFerrers. 
But  the  suspicion  was  too  vague,  the  possibility 
too  remote,  to  permit  of  action.    He  left  Greatbatch 
without  a  word,  and,  as  he  went  out  ragmg  and 
fuming,  he  stood  an  instant  under  the  great  tree, 
which  now  waved  its  branched  in  soUtud^    Not  a 
creature  was  stirring  under  its  shadow.    He  looked 
with  angry,  gleaming  eyes  out  over  the  nver,  as 
though  it  had  been  an  accomplice  in  the  flight.    It 
was  covered  with  small,  white  waves,  beating  rest- 
lessly against  the  shore,  and  surging  about  the  ba^ 
of  those  rocks  behind  which,  as  the  Indians  believed, 
a  Manitou  kept  the  winds  imprisoned.    The  thought 
in  Prosser  Williams'  mind  was  that  the  time  had 
now  come  for  action.    At  least,  the  departure  of 
Gerald  de  Lacey  took  the  obstacle  of  an  angry 
father  out  of  the  way.    Two  courses  were  now  open 
to  him:   either  to  employ  that  which  he  had  just 
suggested  to  Greatbatch,  or,  since  that  might  be 
attended  with  difficulties  if  the  girl,  as  seemed  likely, 
continued  on  at  the  Van  Cortlandts,  to  cause  her 
arrest.    In  his  fury  against  her.  he  inclined  to  the 
latter  alternative,  which,  he  concluded,  might  in 
the  end  best  further  his  plans.    When  she  found 
herself  in  imminent  danger  of  imprisonment  or  stiU 
more  dire  penalties,  she  would  no  doubt  be  glad  to 
procure  her  release  on  any  terms.    For  with  his  in- 
fluence he  could  obtain  it,  and  she  would  then  be 
forced  to  accept  him  as  her  husband.    He  swore  an 


PROSSER  WILLIAMS'  RESOLVE      433 

oath  that  she  would  be  obliged  in  some  mannei 
or  other  to  do  this  very  thing  before  that  moon, 
which  now  appeared  as  a  pale  crescent  behind  the 
cliffs  across  the  river,  was  at  its  full. 

As  he  turned  to  leave  the  spot,  he  saw  the  figure 
of  Mynheer  de  Vries  approaching.  De  Vries  saluted 
the  Captain  in  his  bland  fashion,  remarking  on  the 
beauty  of  the  evening,  and  Prosser  Williams  thought 
of  questioning  him  as  to  the  truth  of  Greatbatch's 
story.  Mynheer  was  a  near  neighbor  of  the  fugitive, 
and  might  even  be  possessed  of  some  other  informa- 
tion. But,  when  Williams  broached  the  subject,  it 
slipped  oft  the  smooth,  polished  surface  of  Mynheer 
as  water  from  the  face  of  a  rock,  and  had  only  one 
effect,  that  of  putting  the  latter  upon  his  guard. 
In  his  mind  it  was  important  that  this  young  sprig 
of  nobility  and  attach^  of  His  Excellency  should 
know  nothing.  He  parted  from  the  other  as  soon 
as  he  could,  and  went  into  the  tavern  to  discover 
from  Greatbatch,  if  possible,  the  reasons  for  de 
Lacey's  departure,  provided  always  that  he  was 
acquainted  with  that  fact. 

Prosser  WiJuiams,  on  the  other  hand,  seeing  that 
nothing  was  to  be  gained  by  lingering,  went  on  his 
way,  making  a  point  to  pass  by  the  Van  Cortlandt 
mansion  in  Uie  hope  of  catching  even  a  brief  glimpse 
of  Evelyn.  He  was  more  intoxicated  than  ever  at 
the  thought  of  her,  now  that  new  obstacles  seemed  to 
spring  up  in  his  path,  and  he  was  mote  than  ever 
resolved  to  win  her  by  foul  means,  if  not  by  fair. 
The  very  resentment  that  he  felt  towards  her  for 
having,  as  he  believed,  outwitted  him  and  got  the 
better  of  him  in  the  matter  of  her  father's  flight, 
only  gave  an  impetus  to  his  ardor. 
"The  trees  were  beginning  to  shed  their  leaves, 


y  ] 


d 


i 


234    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

which  rustled  along  the  street  as  he  passed.  There 
were  only  late  flowers  in  these  gardens  that  attracted 
the  eye  in  all  the  residential  parts  of  this  colom^ 
town,  the  monotony  of  which  he  hated.  He  paused 
outside  the  iron  fence  that  enclosed  the  grounds  of 
the  Van  Cortlandt  dwelling.  He  looked  up  at  the 
gable  of  the  house  where  it  turned  towards  the  gar- 
den. He  noted  abstractedly  the  date  of  the  building 
of  the  house,  the  initials  of  the  family,  the  vane 
upon  the  gable  top  and  the  other  adornments  which 
the  fancy  of  the  anchor-smith  or  worker  in  iron  had 
added.  He  allowed  his  eyes  to  travel  downwards 
thence  to  the  windows,  tM  porch  and  finally  the 
garden,  but  no  sign  could  he  catch  of  the  girl  who, 
to  his  amazement  and  even  dismay,  took  a  foremost 
place  in  all  his  thoughts.  He  felt  this  failure  to 
catch  even  a  glimpse  of  her  as  a  new  and  distmct 
grievance,  as  if  she  had  planned  it,  and  he  slowly 
walked  away  with  a  crushing  sense  of  defeat  and 
humiliation.  Through  his  fierce  resentment  tow- 
ards her  and  all  whom  he  believed  to  be  concerned 
in  the  father's  departure,  he  seemed  to  hear  in  the 
wind  that  swept  up  from  the  Bay  the  tones  of  her 
voice,  full  of  the  vibrant  quality  which  had  so  often 
thrilled  him  when  in  her  presence.  , 

"What  an  infernal  fool  I  am,"  he  sohloquized, 
"to  let  her  gain  such  a  mastery  over  me!  But  by 
the  high  heaven,  if  ever  I  win  her,  it  will  be  worth 
it  all — aye,  and  a  thousand  times  more!" 

Long  before  he  reached  Whitehall,  which  he  stopped 
to  examine  curiously  as  thoughhehadneverbeforeseen 

it,  he  had  come  to  the  determination  to  take  the  bold 
step  forward  of  a  declaration  to  Evelyn.  Then  he 
would  know  whether  it  was  to  be  war  or  peace  be- 
tween them,  and  would  be  prepared  toact  accordmgly. 


CHAPTER  XII 


THB   KBttMSSSB 

yHE   town  was  aJl   agog   over   the   Kermesse. 

1  which  was  to  be  held  that  year  upon  the  Com- 
mon.' Booths  were  being  erected  for  the  display 
of  almost  every  imaginable  variety  of  wares.  Cattle 
were  being  brought  from  the  farms  on  the  Hudson 
from  Jersey,  the  Heights  of  Hoboken,  Weehawken 
and  even  from  the  adjoining  colonies.  Early  on 
that  bepteniber  morning  when  the  fair  was  to  open, 
the  tnbe  of  the  Rockaways  arrived  from  the  sea- 
shore with  thar  merchandise.  They  came,  urging 
their  swift  canoes  along  with  skilled,  sure  stroke 
of  theu  paddles  into  the  great  Basin  just  below  the 
Long  Bndge  at  the  foot  of  Broad  Street.  Waiting 
tor  them  on  the  shore  were  a  crowd  of  idlers  and  num- 
bere  of  children.  These  latter  had  long  looked  for- 
wwd  to  their  coming,  displaying  their  eagerness 
with  shinmg  eyes,  animated  gestures  and  merry 
talk  and  laughter.  They  ran  and  skipped  around 
tnem  escorting  that  solemn  procession  of  painted 
ana  leathered  Indians,  copper-colored  and  shining 
with  grease.  The  squaws  were  especially  conspicu- 
ous m  dresses  of  glaringly  vivid  calicoes  and  neck- 
lace of  bright  beads  or  shells. 

The  arrival  of  the  Wilden  ushered  in  the  week  of 
'The  Conunon,  the  present  CSty  Hall  Park. 


if 


236    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

the  Kemusse  which  stirred  the  sleepy  Dutch  town 
to  its  depths.  There  was  no  family  of  prominence 
which  had  not  visitors  for  the  Kermesse,  and  a  round 
of  gaieties,  quite  apart  from  the  weekly  assemblies, 
kept  the  young  people  in  the  highest  of  spirits. 
Everyone  met  everyone  else  at  the  Kermesse,  and 
gay  groups  wandered  amongst  the  stalls,  watched 
the  various  trials  of  skill,  the  wrestling  and  the  jump- 
ing, visited  the  Punch  and  Judy  show,  or  adnured 
the  splendid  specimens  of  cattle.  The  wares  of  the 
Wilden  attracted  perhaps  the  greatest  number  of 
buyers.  All  their  products  were  in  demand:  theu- 
pottery,  their  embroidered  ^loccasins,  the  sand  for 
floors,  the  baskets  of  numerous  shapes,  the  cats- 
tails,  oak-knots  and  willow  withes  (which  latter 
would  be  formed  into  brooms  or  mats) ;  the  bay- 
berries  from  the  wax  of  which  candles  were  made, 
the  elder  and  other  berries  for  dyes,  the  dried  clams 
strung  on  sea-grass,  and  above  all,  the  assortment  of 
fresh  fish,  which  the  latest  arrivals  had  brought  with 
them— lampreys  and  eels  and  sunfish,  white  and 
yellow  perch,  sturgeon,  bream,  cod  and  sea-bass, 
with  salmon  that  would  have  tempted  the  appetite 
of  an  anchorite.  . 

Evelyn  de  Lacey  and  a  merry  party  of  young  gurls 
escorted  by  their  beaux  had  come  hither.  Pieter 
Schuyler  was  in  close  attendance,  overjoyed  at  the 
opportunity  thus  afEorded.  His  honest,  ma^y 
countenance,  deeply  bronzed  by  the  sun,  was  radi- 
ant. He  was  in  the  best  of  spirits,  and  entCTed 
with  zest  into  the  laughter  and  jests,  though  he  had 
been  quick  to  notice  the  shadow  of  anxiety  and  sad- 
ness that  hung  about  the  giri  like  a  cloud  ovct  the 
sunshine  of  that  pleasant  morning.  Lord  Bello- 
mont,  who  had  just  returned  from  Massachusetts 


THE  KERMESSE 


237 


with  Her  Excellency  and  members  of  his  Household, 
made  his  appearance  early  in  the  day  to  declare  the 
Kermesse  opened.  He  was  attended  by  many  ofiB- 
cers  from  the  garrison  and  the  warship,  together 
with  the  chief  of  the  train-bands,  the  mayor  and 
civic  functionaries.  After  he  had  withdrawn,  my 
Lady  remained  on,  with  but  one  of  her  ladies  and 
Captain  Prosser  Williams  in  attendance.  She  had  a 
whun  to  wander  at  will  about  the  place,  and,  meeting 
Evelyn  at  one  of  the  stalls,  attached  her  to  her  party. 

"I  want  to  talk  to  you,"  said  she.  "Where  have 
you  been  hi(Ung  this  long  time  that  I  have  not  seen 
you?" 

In  answer  Evelyn  informed  her  that  she  had  re- 
mained a  good  deal  in  the  house  because  of  Madam 
Van  Cortlandt's  loneliness  after  the  marriage  of  her 
granddaughter. 

"Do  not  let  her  tie  you  to  her  apron  strings  too 
much,"  my  Lady  cried  petulantly.  "The  young  were 
never  meant  to  be  weighed  down  by  the  heaviness 
of  the  old." 

To  this  Evelyn  made  no  reply,  as  the  speech  jarred 
upon  her. 

"And  your  father?"  continued  my  Lady  inquir- 
ingly. 

As  the  girl,  taken  aback  by  the  suddenness  of  the 
question,  was  at  a  loss  for  a  fit  reply,  Her  Excellency 
proceeded  calmly : 

"I  have  lately  learned  that  he  is  absent."  The  girl 
could  scarcely  repress  a  start.  "I  regret  it  on  my 
own  account,"  went  on  the  speaker  Ughtly,  "for 
I  have  heard  that  he  is  a  charming,  agreeable  man, 
and  I  would  fain  have  met  him." 

Evelyn  responded  that  her  father  went  very  little 
abroad,  that  he  was  absorbed  for  the  most  part  in 


238    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

his  books,  but  that  the  pleasure  yrould  have  been 
mutual,  she  was  sure. 

"There  are  other  things,"  Lady  Bellomont  said 
significantly,  "which  I  have  been  told  about  him, 
and  which  interested  me  more.  I  liked  what  I 
had  heard  of  his  courage  and  loyalty  in  these  time- 
serving days." 

Evelyn  was  astonished,  and  it  required  all  her  self- 
control  to  conceal  the  consternation  which  possessed 
her. 

"But,"  my  Lady  said,  dropping  her  voice  a  little, 
"it  was  an  enemy  that  told  me  this — one  hostile 
to  your  father  and  of  whoni  you  must  beware,  for 
presently,  if  it  serves  his  turn,  he  wiU  tell  the  same 
story  to  my  Lord  Bellomont  or  to  my  brother, 
Mr.  Nanfan,  which  will  be  equally  parilous.  It 
was  wise  of  Mr.  de  Lacey  to  leave  Manhattan.  I 
would  that  you  also,"  she  spoke  with  a  little  worried 
pucker  of  the  brows,  "were  out  of  harm's  way  till 
these  troublous  days  are  past." 

The  solicitude  implied  by  the  words,  and  the  tone 
in  which  they  were  uttered,  touched  Evelyn.  For 
the  first  time  she  believed  that  this  woman,  despite 
the  wagging  of  inimical  tongues,  was  not  altogefiier 
heartless,  frivolous  and  false.  But  as  with  faltering 
voice,  in  which  were  evident  the  sorrows  and  anx- 
ieties of  these  many  days,  Evelyn  tried  to  thank 
her.  Lady  Bellomont  added  hurriedly: 

' '  Who  that  enemy  is  I  need  scarce  say.  Little  doubt 
but  your  keen  wit  has  already  discovered  him.  And 
have  a  care,  be  wary,"  she  cautioned,  "he  is  both 
powerful  and  dangerous." 

But  here  Lady  Bellomont's  attention  was  claimed 
by  various  notables  of  the  place,  who  crowded  as- 
siduously about  her,  preventing  her  from  enjoying. 


THE  KERMESSE 


239 


as  she  claimed,  that  hour  of  freedom.  Evelyn  took 
the  opportunity  to  slip  away;  she  looked  around  for 
Pieter  who  had  been  her  escort,  but  he  had  dis- 
appeared. She  was  anxious  to  collect  her  thoughts 
and  work  out  in  her  mind  this  new  problem  that  had 
presented  itself.  What,  if  Her  Ladyship,  whom  so 
many  accused  of  being  capricious  and  spitrful, 
should  change  from  that  attitude  of  kindness,  and 
make  public  the  information  that  had  been  so  mis- 
chievously offered  her,  as  if  to  pave  the  way  for 
the  other  stroke  that  was  to  come?  She  drew  close 
about  her  the  cardinal  (or  great  cloak)  which  she 
had  brought  with  her,  since  the  day  was  chilly,  as 
if  thus  to  shut  out  those  cares  and  troubles  which 
were  gathering  thickly  about  her.  How  could  she 
be  sure  that  her  father  was  safe,  even  if  he  had 
reached  that  temporary  haven  in  the  town  of  Salem? 
For  was  not  that  also  under  the  government  of 
Lord  Bellomont,  and  was  not  a  set  of  fanatics  at 
the  head  of  affairs  there,  to  whom  persecution  seemed 
as  the  breath  of  their  nostrils?  And  if  safety  could 
not  be  assured  there,  even  to  one  living  in  obsauity, 
what  was  to  be  the  outcome?  Maryland,  late  the 
home  of  religious  liberty  for  all  men,  the  sanctuary 
of  the  New  World,  was  now  rendered  likewise  peril- 
ous for  Catholics,  who  had  granted  that  liberty. 
The  infamous  Coode  and  his  faction  were  still  in 
power,  and  Governor  Seymour  was  a  deadly  hater 
of  the  old  faith  and  its  adherents. 

Leaving  her  gay  companions,  Evelim  turned  her 
steps  towards  that  portion  of  the  Common  where 
the  Wilden  offered  their  wares,  and  the  old  squaw, 
who  had  an  ahnost  maternal  affection  for  her, 
noted  at  once  the  cloud  upon  her  brow  and  the  signs 
of  weariness  and  trouble  in  her  aspect. 


h^4\ 


i^' 


240    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

"Our  pale-face  sister  movirns,"  she  said,  "and 
her  heart  is  more  troubled  than  the  sea  when  the 
stonn  wind  blows  over  it.  But  her  red-skin  brothers 
and  sisters  are  with  her  in  her  trouble.  The  Silver 
Covenant  binds  them,  and  they  will  never  forsake 

her." 

The  assurance  was  strangely  comforting  to  Evelyn 
in  the  desolation  that  seemed  to  close  round  her  with 
a  presage  of  coming  disaster.  She  basked,  as  it 
were,  in  the  warmth  of  those  friendly  beings,  who 
gathered  about  displaying  their  wares  for  her  to 
adnrire  and  pressing  tokens  upon  her.  While  thus 
standing  in  iheir  midst,  she  saw  with  a  shiver  of  ap- 
prehension the  tall  figure  of  Captain  Prosser  Will- 
iams. He  had  been  following  her  with  his  eyes  all 
that  morning,  and  had  come  at  last  to  the  resolve 
that  there  and  then  he  would  force  her  to  listen  to 
his  suit.  If  her  reply  were  favorable,  well  and  good. 
Matters  might  then  go  on  as  they  were,  and  her 
father  proceed  to  Barbadoes— or  to  Hades— for  all 
he  cared.  But  if  it  were  otherwise,  if  she  dared  to 
refuse  an  offer  which  seemed  to  him  so  great  a  con- 
descension and  so  admirable  a  bit  of  good  fortune 
for  her,  then  he  would  bring  force  to  bear  upon  her 
— such  force  as  would  compel  her  to  yield — through 
Greatbatch  or  through  the  prison  cell.  He  would 
terrify  her  with  the  grisly  spectacle  of  the  hangman 
himself,  and  snatch  her,  as  it  were,  from  the  gibbet 
prepared  for  a  recusant  and  a  traitor,  a  seducer  of 
the  savages,  a  "consorter  with  Jesuits";  and  would 
make  her  his  wife  in  spite  of  them  all  and  in  her  own 
despite.  In  the  last  resort  she  would  be  obliged  to 
choose  between  Jack  Ketch  and  himself.  With 
very  little  ceremony  then,  he  approached  her.  As 
time  went  on  he  was  more  and  more  furious,  when 


THE  KERMESSE 


341 


he  thought  of  the  escape  of  her  father,  and  deter- 
mined not  to  spare  her. 

"You  had  best  come  away  from  here,"  he  said 
ahnost  roughly.  "Your  association  with  these 
people  exposes  you  to  great  risks,  and  one  of  these 
days  it  will  cost  you  dear." 

Evelyn  was  disposed  to  refuse  at  first,  raising  her 
head  haughtily  and  drawing  back  a  pace  or  two. 
The  remembrance  of  her  father,  however,  as  well 
as  of  those  other  interests  which  might  be  at  stake 
and  of  Ferrers'  warning  to  her  not  to  antagonize 
the  man,  caused  her  to  follow  his  lead,  albeit  with  a 
disdain  which  she  strove  to  cover  by  a  half-laughing 
petulance. 

"What  have  the  Wilden  done  to  you,  Captain 
Williams,"  queried  she,  with  apparent  amusement, 
"that  you  are  so  fierce  against  them?" 

"It  is  not  a  question  of  these  savages  at  all,"  he 
answered,  with  a  gesture  of  contempt  in  their  direc- 
tion. "To  my  mind  they  are  but  dirty,  ill-smelling, 
greasy  beasts,  little  removed  from  the  brute  crea- 
tion." 

Evelyn  flushed  up,  but  made  no  reply.  "Some 
brutes,"  she  reflected,  "did  not  wear  feathers  in 
their  heads,  nor  paint  themselves  red."  She  walkr  1 
away  in  the  direction  which  Williams  indicate  . 
Although  she  beUeved  him  to  be  her  mortal  foe,  she 
realized  the  importance  of  keeping  as  long  as  possible 
on  a  footing  of  amity,  or  at  least  of  conventional 
civility,  with  him.  She  scarcely  noticed  that  he 
was  leading  her  to  a  retired  spot  behind  some  of  the 
stalls  where  a  group  of  trees  formed  a  kind  of  rural 
arbor.  There  was  a  rustic  bench  there  upon  which, 
with  but  little  ceremony,  he  invited  her  to  be  seated. 
As  he  himself  remained  standing  for  the  moment, 


Mi 


242    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

Evdyn  mastered  her  repugnance  towards  the  man 
sufficiently  to  speak. 

"I  thought,"  she  said,  for  the  silence  had  begun 
to  be  irksome,  and  the  man's  intent  gaze  offensive, 
"that  you  were  in  attendance  on  my  Lady  Bello- 
mont." 

Prosser  Williams  gave  a  short  laugh. 

"I  have  purposely  lost  my  Lady  Bellomont  m 
the  crowd,  and  she  will  not  be  sorry.  I  have  more 
important  matters  of  my  own  to  attend  to  than 
playing  lackey  to  any  fine  lady." 

Evdyn  might  have  retorted  that  to  her  mmd 
it  was  the  rdle  for  which  he 'was  peculiarly  fitted, 
but  she  wisely  forbore.  Sovmds  from  that  gay  and 
animated  scene  reached  her  ears.  She  could  hear 
the  familiar  intonations  of  friendly  voices,  and  catch 
glimpses  of  costumes  which  she  knew  to  have  been 
prepared  for  this  week  of  festivities.  As  Captain 
Williams  remained  silent,  Evelyn  asked  presently 
with  wondering  eyes,  that  had  something  of  mockery 
in  them,  and  with  a  satirical  Uttle  smile  about  the 
lips,  that  enraged  the  unwelcome  suitor: 

"Is  your  business  then  so  very  important?" 

"Yes,  to  me,"  he  answered  curtly,  "and  to  you 
also." 

"To  me,"  echoed  Evelyn,  raising  her  eyebrows 
and  eying  him  coldly.  "I  scarcely  think,"  with 
cool,  composed  emphasis  on  the  words,  "that  any 
business  of  Captain  Prosser  Williams  can  be  of 
importance  to  me." 

"Then  I  shall  endeavor  to  convince  you  of  your 
mistake.  I  diaJl  not  waste  time  in  preliminaries, 
and  I  suppose  it  is  idle  to  talk  of  love  to  a  young 
lady  of  your  loftiness,  who  fancies  hereelf  secure 
upon  a  pedestal  above  ordinary  mortals." 


THE  KERMESSE  243 

Eveljrn  laughed  outright  as  if  he  spoke  in  jest, 
though  in  truth  her  heart  sank  at  the  realization  of 
the  crisis  thus  suddenly  forced  upon  her. 

"Yes,"  she  remarked  casually,  "it  would  be, 
as  you  say,  quite  idle  to  enlarge  upon  such  a  subject. 
I  assure  you  it  is  very  far  removed  from  my 
thoughts." 

"Well,  it  is  not  removed  from  mine,"  retorted 
Prosser  Williams  hotly,  "and  I  shaU  take  this  op- 
portunity of  telling  you  that,  upon  your  present 
conduct  and  your  answer  to  the  question  I  am  about 
to  put,  will  depend  your  own  safety  and  that  of 
others." 

"So  you  are  condescending  to  threaten  me." 

There  was  unutterable  scorn  expressed  in  the  low- 
voiced  comment  of  the  girl. 

"I  am  condescending  to  anything,"  declared 
Prosser  Williams,  "which  will  further  my  suit  with 
you." 

"You  take  a  strange  way  to  awaken  my  interest," 
said  Evelyn,  drawing  away  from  him. 

"I  will  resort  to  any  means,  I  care  not  what, 
short  of  actual  violence,"  said  Prosser  Williams. 
"And  even  that,  if  need  be,  shall  not  be  left  out  of 
the  reckoning." 

Evelyn  tried  to  rise,  but,  taking  her  hand,  he 
forcibly  detained  her. 

"You  shaU  hear  me,"  he  said  insistently,  "that 
I  may  know  from  this  moment  upon  what  footing 
I  stand.  My  infatuation  for  you — call  it  by  what- 
ever name  you  will — ^has  made  me  reckless.  If  you 
will  not  listen  to  an  avowal  of  love,  you  shall  at 
least  hear  my  determination  to  win  you  for  my  wife 
at  all  costs,  or — " 

"The  alternative,  pray  let  me  hear  the  altema- 


;(,!', 


444    GERALD  db  LACEVS  DAUGHTER 

tive,"  cried  Evelyn  passionately,  for  indignation  had 
now  overmastered  every  other  feeling.  Will  not 
so  generous  and  chivalrous  a  suitor,  whom  one  can- 
not choose  but  detest,  put  his  meaning  plamly  mto 
words?" 

The  man's  face  was  white  with  fury,  so  bitmg  was 
the  tone  and  so  scathing  the  words,  but  he  answered 

sullenly :  , 

"You  know  very  well  with  what  you  are  threat- 
ened, you  and  your  Papist  father,  as  recusants, 
traitors  to  the  King's  Majesty,  consorters  with 
Jesuits,  seducers  of  the  savages." 

He  poured  out  the  words  fast  and  funous,  as  if 
they  were  in  danger  of  choking  him.  ,  . .     ,„ 

"I  know  enough,"  he  finished,  "of  your  father  s 
antecedents  to  have  him  hanged  as  high  as  ever 
were  hung  those  two  godly  and  innocent  niMi, 
Lcisler  and  Milbome.  It  is  the  duty  of  one  loyal  to 
the  King  and  to  his  country  to  denounce  such  a  one. 

For  the  life  of  her,  Evelyn  could  not  repress  a 

"And  as  for  your  dainty  ladyship,  Jiere  is  matter 
enough  against  you  to  make  it  a  choice  between  a 
dungeon  and  a  gibbet." 

But  Evelyn  was  brave  agam,  and  faced  him  witn 

proud  composure.  .  -^^^ 

"I,  and  I  alone,"  he  went  on,  "with  my  influence 

here  and  in  England,  can  always  protect  you  and 

save  your  father."  .    . 

"In  ..pite  of  your  loyalty  and  patriotism,  your 
duty  to  your  King  and  country?"  snared  Evelyn. 

HebithisUps.  "A  truce  to  your  irony!  he  said 
darkly.  "I  care  nothing  for  it.  I  offer  you  the  al- 
ternative of  a  highly  advantageous  marriage  with 
me  or  death  and  disgrace." 


;»! 


THE  KERMESSE 


445 


"There  cannot  be  a  moment's  choice,"  returned 
Evelyn  with  convincing  sincerity.  ' '  I  would  infinitely 
prefer  the  latter." 

As  she  spoke,  she  made  another  effort  to  rise,  but, 
grasping  her  by  the  hand,  he  strove  to  draw  her 
towards  him,  pouring  out  in  wild  incoherent  language 
the  mad  passion  which  at  the  moment  pos^ssed 
him  more  than  ever.  Qtute  opportunely  for  Evelyn, 
footsteps  were  heard  approaching,  and  Captain 
Ferrers  stood  a  moment  in  astonishment  and  per- 
plexity before  the  pair.  Do£Sng  his  hat  hastily,  he 
would  have  passed  on  had  not  Evelyn,  now  freed 
from  Williams'  compelling  grasp,  exclaimed  hur- 
riedty: 

"Will  you  give  me  your  aim.  Captain  Ferrers? 
I  would  fain  return  to  my  friends." 

The  glance  exchanged  between  the  two  men  was 
full  of  deadly  enmity.  Open  and  undisguised  aver- 
sion and  contempt  were  in  Captain  Ferrers'  look, 
as  well  as  a  deadly  anger.  For  Evelyn's  manner 
and  her  appeal  to  him  had  convinced  him  that  the 
fellow  had  dared  to  offer  her  some  affront.  Happily 
he  was  still  better  aware  than  Evelyn  of  the  necessity 
of  self-control  and  the  avoidance  of  all  open  hostility. 
He  gave  the  girl  his  arm,  with  a  bow  tiiat  was  pur- 
posely ceremonious,  and  together  they  walked  away. 
As  for  Captain  Prosser  Williams,  he  stood  an  in- 
stant uncertain  what  course  to  take.  Then,  slowly 
turning  his  back,  he  strolled  off  in  an  opposite  direc- 
tion. For  some  moments  there  wa ,  silence  between 
Ferrers  and  Evelyn.  The  latter  was  struggling  for 
self-control  which  should  prevent  her  from  maddng 
any  disclosure  that  might  precipitate  a  conflict  be- 
tween the  two  men,  and  Captain  Ferrers  was  full 
of  an  indignation  which  it  required  the  whole  force 


r 


{..'S 


346     GERALD  Di  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

ci  his  will  to  master.  When  at  last  he  spoke,  it  was 
in  a  low  voice,  unsteady  with  emotion: 

"Has  he  dared?" 

But  Evelyn  answered  quiddy: 

"I  implore  you  to  take  no  notice.  You  know 
what  a  quarrel  at  tUs  moment  might  mean  to  us  all. 
But  from  this  time  forward,  we  may  be  assured, 
Captain  Williams  will  throw  off  his  disguise." 

She  spoke  with  a  foreboding  conviction,  and  Cap- 
tain Ferrers,  aware  from  her  manner  no  less  than 
her  words  that  some  crisis  had  been  precipitated, 
hurried  her  from  the  spot,  la  their  agitation  the 
two  scarcely  heeded  the  animated  scene  through 
which  they  were  passing.  Mechanically  they  ptished 
tiieir  way  among  the  throng  of  buyers  and  hucksters, 
the  merely  ciuious  or  those  intent  on  purchase, 
and  their  friends,  to  whom  Evelyn  nodded  and 
smiled  abstractedly,  while  Captain  Ferrers  doffed 
his  hat.  Ferrers  had  but  one  thought,  namely,  to 
see  his  companion  under  the  friendly  prot^tion 
of  the  Van  Cortlandt  roof,  which  would  afford  her 
at  least  a  temporary  shelter.  He  felt  sure,  though 
she  had  not  said  so,  that  Evelyn  had  rejected  Cap- 
tain Williams'  suit,  advantageous  as  such  an  al- 
liance would  have  been  for  her  from  every  point  of 
view,  save  as  to  the  character  of  the  man  himself. 
Sudi  rejection  would  goad  that  unwelcome  suitor 
to  an  insensate  rage,  aU  the  more  deadly  as  it  was 
cold  and  crafty.  Captain  Ferrers  knew  the  character 
and  reputation  of  the  man,  and  was  aware  besides 
that  it  must  have  been  no  light  fancy,  but  a  genuine 
passion,  which  had  impelled  him  to  offer  his  hand  in 
marriage  to  a  penniless  girl.  In  fact,  that  he  had 
done  so  surpri^  him  no  little,  as  it  hardly  tallied 
with  his  idea  of  the  man's  nature.    But,  though  his 


THE  KERMESSE  347 

deUcaw  fwbade  him  to  ask  any  questions,  he  knew 
b^ondadoubt  what  her  words  had  implied.  And 
ftosscr  Williams  in  the  rdle  of  a  rejected  suitor,  with 
his  power  and  influence  over  Lord  Bellomont,  was 
dangerous  beyond  words.  Evelyn  herself,  though 
die  was  apprehensive  of  danger,  could  not  have 
dreamed  that  one  who  posed  as  a  gentleman  would 
stoop  to  the  methods  which  Ferrers  felt  sure  the 
other  would  employ  without  scruple.  For  the  social 
circle  m  which  Williams  had  Uved  his  whole  life, 
had  been  of  a  sort  to  demoralize  anyone;  and  it 
was  but  too  probable  that  he  had  lost  sight  of  even 
those  ideals  and  traditions  by  which  men  of  his  class 
were  ordinarily  bound. 

So  full  was  Ferrers  of  these  reflections  that  he 
walked  almost  m  silence  beside  the  girl,  whose  face 
he  could  but  dimly  see,  so  closely  was  it  shaded  by 
the  hood  of  her  cardinal.  This  glimpse  of  her  sad- 
dened  countenance  stirred  his  pulses  and  awakened 
m  him  a  pity  and  a  tenderness  that,  for  the  time 
bemg,  ^TOt  cast  into  the  shade  that  warmer  emo- 
tion which  her  presence,  and  even  the  sound  of  her 
voice,  had  hitherto  awakened.  How  helpless  she 
was !  How  helpless  would  be  her  friends  in  presence 
of  the  penis  that  threatened  her! 

At  Madam  Van  Cortlandfs  door  he  left  her,  with 
a  few  hurried  words  of  warning.  He  implored  her 
to  be  on  her  guard,  to  stir  but  little  ab  jad  and 
never  unattended,  until  he  should  have  discovered 
somethmg  at  least  of  his  fellow-soldier's  plans  There 
was  a  hint  of  emotion  in  the  manner  of  both  as  they 
parted.  Events  were  bringing  them  so  closeK  to- 
gether in  thought  and  feeling,  and  yet,  as  Evelyn 
was  quick  to  recognize,  forcing  them  farther  and 
farther  apart. 


148    GERALD  db  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

For  many  a  day  afterward*  Captain  Ferrers  pre- 
served the  Lnace  of  Evelyn  as  she  stood  in  the  open 
doorway,  the  scarlet  cardinal  fallinE  back  to  lev^ 
the  soft  white  frock  beneath.  He  fdt  that  he  would 
do  anything  in  the  world  to  win  her  by  all  fair  and 
honorable  means,  such  as  would  ensure  her  own  safety 
and  that  of  her  father.  He  cursed  the  stupid  laws 
and  senseless  bi^try  which  could  make  victmis  of 
such  as  these,  and  which  now  stood  in  the  way  of 
all  his  happiness. 


CHArTv;R  xni 


A    li:     "A-    THltVTKVS 

MEANWHILE  events  in  t. ,  vtlony  had  been 
such  as  to  spreaJ  l  ni'tcniation,  not  only 
among  the  few  and  s  aae,  d  Tatholics,  but  also 
among  all  who,  having  ra-r^td  t.einselves  against 
Lasler,  w^re  counted  wii.}  -i  a  particle  of  founda- 
tion as  enemies  of  the  Protestant  cause.  To  Dutch 
Manhattan,  and  those  of  the  English  whom  inter- 
marriage or  long  residence  had  led  to  make  common 
cause  with  the  Hollanders,  the  news  came  like  a 
thunderbolt  that  Nicholas  Bayard,  head  of  the 
anti-Leislerian  party,  had  been  arrested.  The  charge 
against  him  was  treason  and  conspiracy  against 
the  liberties  of  his  fellow-subjects.  Society  was 
paralysed  by  the  shock.  The  weekly  "sociables" 
and  other  forms  of  entertainment  amongst  the  higher 
circles  were  suspended;  and,  while  the  older  men 
and  women  still  met  in  anxious  gatherings  in  the 
drawing-rooms  of  Madam  Van  Cortlandt,  the  Schuy- 
l«s,  Phillipses,  Spratts,  Provosts,  Van  Schaicks  and 
the  rest,  their  conversation  dealt  altogether  with 
the  political  situation  and  the  growing  dissatisfac- 
tion in  that  element  of  society  with  the  admin- 
istration of  Lord  Bellomont  and  his  fanatical  sup- 
porters. •.  The  arrest  was  a  direct  blow  at  most 


2SO     GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

of  the  leading  Dutch  families,  who  had  beUeved 
themselves  so  influential  and  their  position  so  secure. 
For  perhaps  none  among  their  members  surpassed 
Nicholas  Bayard  in  character  and  abihty  or  m  the 
elegance  of  his  surroundings  and  the  luxury  of  lus 
dwelling.  That  house  which  Bayard  had  lately 
built  in  the  region  of  the  Catiemuts  Hill,  where  it 
was  reached  by  the  fresh  breezes  of  both  nvers, 
had  become  a  landmark  in  the  Colony.  "Mr.  Bay- 
ard's chimney  and  Mr.  Bayard's  red  front  door 
were  beacons  out  over  the  river  and  a  species  of 
traveller's  guide  on  land.  It  was  whispered  about 
in  those  anxious  gatherings  that  the  costly  appur- 
tenances of  his  dwelling  had.  been  handled  imcere- 
moniously,  and  even  damaged  considerably,  by  the 
party  who  had  gone  thither  to  make  the  arrest. 
In  their  search  for  the  hidden  master  of  the  house, 
they  were  said  to  have  behaved  with  inconceivable 
rudeness  to  Madam  Bayard  and  other  persons  of 

condition.  ,  ^  i.    it- 

Madam  Van  Cortlandt  was  much  upset  by  this 
happening,  having  her  own  reasons  for  feehng  it 
acutely.  For  Mr.  Bayard  was  connected  with  her 
by  ties  of  kindred,  through  intermarriage  between 
the  famiUes  and  long  friendship,  and  his  atuation 
was  without  doubt  sufficiently  serious.  She  was, 
moreover,  very  wdl  aware  that  at  least  one  of  her 
sons,  Olat  Stephenson  Van  Cortlandt,  might  very 
possibly  become  embroiled,  as  indeed  proved  later 
to  be  the  case.  Then  PoUy,  who  had  but  lately  re- 
turned from  her  wedding  journey  and  taken  up  her 
abode  in  the  fashionable  quarter  of  the  town  down 
near  the  Fort,  could  bring  her  but  Uttle  comfort. 
During  the  frequent  visits  which  she  paid  to  ha 
grandmother  and  her  beloved  Evelyn,  she  was  at 


A  BLOW  THREATENS  251 

times  moody  and  depressed,  quite  unlike  her  old 
■vivacious  self.  For  her  newly-wed  husband  had 
ali^dy  tried  to  impose  upon  her  many  of  his  puri- 
tanical views,  and  was  making  himself  openly  con- 
spicuous among  the  Ldslerians.  It  was  even 
whispered  that  he  had  taken  a  leading  part  in  pro- 
curing the  arrest  of  Nicholas  Bayard.  The  bright 
horizon  of  PoUy's  life  was  thus  abeady  clouded, 
and  this  added  another  to  Madam  Van  Cortlandt's 
many  causes  of  anxiety.  With  Fvdyn  in  her  house 
and  under  all  the  circumstances,  it  was  necessary  to 
observe  the  greatest  caution.  It  was  but  too  clear 
to  the  mind  of  the  old  lady  that  Polly's  husband 
would  be  glad  of  an  opportunity  to  deal  a  blow  at 
that  friend  of  his  wife's  whom  he  had  always  dis- 
laced.  In  his  fanaticism,  probably,  he  would  con- 
sider that  it  was  a  public  duty  to  rid  the  colony  of 
a  zealous  and  active  adherent  of  Popery.  There- 
fore, Madam  was  troubled  far  beyond  her  wont,  the 
placid  stream  of  her  existence  seeming  of  a  sudden 
to  have  been  forced  into  swift  currents  and  dan- 
gerous eddies. 

Madam  Van  Cortlandt  had  not  hitherto  said  a 
word  to  Evelyn  of  these  troubles  in  so  far  as  they 
concerned  herself,  but  always  preserved  her  cheerful 
and  easy  composure.  The  two  sat  together  on  the 
very  evening  when  the  Kermesse  had  come  to  an 
end.  They  discussed  the  cattle  that  had  been  ex- 
hibited or  sold,  the  various  weaves  of  cloth,  the  webs 
of  linen,  the  embroideries  and  the  leather-work. 
Forgettmg  gruver  cares,  they  gossiped  a  Uttle,  as 
women  will,  of  the  betrothals  that  were  impending, 
and  of  couples  that  had  been  seen  much  together 
dunng  the  course  of  the  week;  of  -Jie  sadness  that 
was  imprinted  like  a  mask  on  the  once  sparkling 


-S* 


2S2     GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

face  of  Cornelia  de  Peyster,  whose  lover  had  been 
killed  by  Indians;  of  how  charming  the  Schuyler 
girls  and  Marije  and  Annetje  Provost  had  looked  in 
their  modish  new  gowns;  how  the  fat  and  sluggish 
wife  of  Mynheer  de  Vries  had  roused  herself  to  come 
in  a  sedan  chair  to  the  Kermesse,  and  had  visited 
every  store.  They  discussed  the  costimies  which 
Lady  Bellomont  had  worn,  her  bonnets  which  had 
come  from  beyond  the  water,  and  her  exquisitely 
embroidered  scarf,  said  to  have  been  the  work  of 
Continental  nuns. 

Sometimes  little  silences  would  intervene  as  the 
elder  lady  studied  with  admiration  the  fine  and 
delicate  profile  of  her  young'  guest,  the  lashes  of 
whose  eyes  rested  on  smooth-sfinned  cheeks,  while 
her  fingers  drew  the  thread  in  and  out  of  the  bit  ot 
tapestry  on  her  lap.  Those  silences  of  Evelyn  struck 
Madam  Van  Ck)rtlandt  as  being  in  themselves  in- 
teresting: they  were  restful  since  they  suggested 
repose;  they  were  sympathetic,  for  from  time  to 
time  the  eyes  that  were  raised  and  the  smile  in 
them  ^owed  that  the  quiet  worker  was  in  touch 
with  her  companion.  Then  too  her  silences  were 
thoughtful,  as  Madam  reflected,  never  for  one  mo- 
ment indicative  of  a  light  and  frivolous  mind,  to 
which  repose  is  abhorrent;  in  themselves  eloquent, 
they  contained  the  elements  of  strength,  power  and 
self-control. 

Madam,  speaking  at  length,  reverted  once  more 
to  the  crucial  matter  of  Nicholas  Bayard,  which 
they  in  common  with  all  the  town  had  discussed  so 
often.  , 

"Much  grieved  I  am  "  she  said,  "for  himself  and 
for  his  wife,  Judith,  whom  I  remember  as  so  beauti- 
ful a  bride,  when  she  came  here  from  Boston  Town. 


w^m 


A  BLOW  THREATENS  253 

Should  aught  befall  her  husband,  I  veray  believe 
the  woman's  heart  would  break." 

Evelyn  considered  the  suggestion,  but  she  did  not 
^ute  it.  To  her  it  seemed  that  hearts  were  not 
brittle,  but  stretched  and  expanded  under  the  pres- 
«ire  that  was  put  upon  them  until  they  could  en- 
dure all  things.  Confident  now  of  a  sympathetic 
fastener,  which  she  no  longer  dared  to  expect  in  her 
granddaughter,  Madam  poured  out  for  the  first 
tnne  to  Evelyn  some  of  the  apprehensions  which 
were  darkemng  all  her  horizon.  What  she  alone 
krpt  from  her  were  her  uneasiness  concerning  the 
girl  herself  and  the  danger  of  her  presence  in  the 
house,  now  that  the  Van  Cortlandts  might  have 
enough  to  do  to  protect  themselves.  She  spoke  her 
mind  with  great  freedom  concerning  thie  new  bride- 
groom, and  declared  that  she  alone  of  all  the  relatives 
had  stood  out  against  such  a  marriage,  the  more 
so  as  it  had  never  been,  or  at  least  was  not  until 
very  recently,  a  marriage  of  love  for  Polly. 

"My  only  hope  is,"  she  said,  "that  Polly's  bright 
and  wholesome  nature  may  correct  defects  in  his 
character.  At  least,  we  can  continue  so  to  hope, 
though  my  experience  of  life  has  been,"  she  added 
with  a  sigh,  "that  the  wife's  nature  changes,  rather 
than  the  husband's,  whose  characteristics  become 
but  more  marked  as  the  years  go  on." 

While  thus  the  pair  conversed,  they  cited  before 
them,  as  it  were,  every  one  of  those  figures  who  were 
then  filling  the  canvas  of  old  New  York.  The  scene 
about  them  was  one  of  indescribable  peace.  The 
room  m  which  they  sat  was  a  small,  cMntz-fumished 
boudoir  close  by  the  drawing-room,  from  which  a 
broad  stairway  of  oak  wound  upwards  to  Madam's 
bedroom.    Through  the  open  windows,  in  that  soft 


'!' 


254    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

September  night,  came  the  odor  of  the  flowers  in 
their  prim  beds,  so  unlike  the  profusion  of  Evelyn's 
own  garden.    Presently  the  clodc  in  the  hall  sounded. 

"Bless  me,"  cried  Madam,  "if  that  is  not  already 
half  past  eight." 

The  excl^nation  rotised  Evelyn  from  the  reverie 
into  which  she  had  fallen,  a  reverie  in  which  Prosser 
WiUiams  and  his  highly  distasteful  wooing  played 
a  part,  and  the  figure  of  Captain  Ferrers  seemed 
thrown  thereby  into  high  rehef.  In  happier  times 
and  under  more  fortunate  circumstances,  she  could 
not  conceal  from  herself  the  latter  might  have  played 
an  important  part  in  her  life.  It  might  have  been 
that  the  old  lady,  who  still  watched  her  intently, 
divined  her  thoughts,  for  she  said  suddenly: 

"A  man  to  be  marked  amongst  many  is  that 
Captain  Ferrers.  He  is  one  whom  I  do  sincerely 
like  and  esteem." 

A  wave  of  color  passed  over  Evelyn's  face,  so  odd 
was  the  coincidence  of  Madam's  remark  with  the 
current  of  her  thoughts. 

"But,  my  child,"  said  the  older  woman,  speaking 
with  her  wise,  tender  gravity,  "it  would  be  foohsh 
to  let  your  imagination  dwell  too  much  on  one  whose 
life  must  lie  so  far  apart  from  y  -'rs.  Mudi  less 
should  you  permit  him  to  engage  your  affection." 

She  paused  scarcely  permitting  herself  a  glance 
at  the  face  before  her;  bot,  as  Evelyn  made  no  re- 
joinder, she  coffltinued: 

"I  speak  as  a  mother  mi^t  speak  to  a  dearly 
loved  daughter.  And  do  not  misunderstand  me, 
whatever  may  be  your  sentiments,  for  he  is  beyond 
question  your  devoted  admirer.  I  will  go  farther 
and  say  that  unmistakaiJy  he  lo»es  you." 

There  was  ar  inscrutaWe  expression  in  the  eyes 


A  BLOW  THREATENS 


255 


that  were  raised  to  Madam's  face,  but  sadness  seemed 
the  dominant  note — a  sad  hopelessness  that  could 
not  be  reused  to  enthusiasm  even  by  recognition  on 
the  part  d  this  woman,  whom  she  knew  to  be  both 
wise  iwd  discerning,  of  a  love  that  was  but  half- 
expressed.  If  it  were  true  that  Captain  Ferrers 
ioved  hei^-as  by  many  tokens  he  had  led  her  to 
hxfieve,  so  that  she  herself  was  all  too  sensible  of 
his  devotion — it  only  made  the  prospect  before  her 
the  more  imspeakably  difRcult. 

"May  I  venture  a  question?"  said  Madam. 
"Has  he  spoken  of  his  feelings?" 

"Only  indirectly,"  Evelyn  answered.  "I  have 
sought  to  avoid  the  subject." 

"As  was  most  wise,"  commented  Madam,  "at 
least  until — " 

But  she  could  not  speak  the  words  of  hope  that 
her  heart  suggested.  The  ending  of  that  sentence 
must  be  indefinite.  She  was  filled  with  a  great  pity 
and  sorrow.  If  circumstances  had  been  different, 
this  would  have  made  an  ideal  match.  She  had 
read  the  young  man's  character  with  her  keen,  dis- 
criminating glance,  and  she  knew  him  to  be  worthy 
-ya  brave  and  honest  gentleman,  of  a  charming 
disposition  too,  such  as  she  might  have  selected  for 
PoUy,  had  the  choice  been  hers.  But  Evelyn  now 
spoke  with  that  fine  dignity  and  composure  which 
Madam  had  so  often  admired: 

"No  one  can  know  better  than  I,"  sl.re  said,  "that 
such  an  attachment  must  be  hopeles.  When  I 
have  gone  to  join  my  father  it  will  perhaps  die  a 
natural  death." 

Madam  was  very  doubtful  whether  any  attach- 
ment inspired  by  such  a  girl  would  be  so  fleeting; 
b«t  she  did  not  express  any  further  opinion,  and 


|.    ,:-. 


JS6     GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

indeed  at  that  very  moment  the  two  were  suddenly 
and  rudely  interrupted.  There  was  the  sound  of 
footsteps  coming  hurriedly  along  the  broad  walk 
outside;  the  latch  of  the  garden  gate  clicked,  and 
in  another  instant  Jumbo,  the  foot-boy,  tapped  at 
the  open  door  of  the  room  where  the  two  ladies  sat. 

His  c/i's  were  rolling  with  excitement,  as  he 
breathlessly  informed  them  that  Mynheer  Ferrers, 
the  Captain,  had  given  him  a  note  and  bidden  him 
take  it  as  speedily  as  he  could  to  the  ladies  of  the 
house.  The  gentleman  had  so  impressed  upon  him 
the  necessity  of  haste,  and  also  of  delivering  the 
note  to  none  other  than  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  or 
her  guest,  that  the  boy  had  very  nearly  got  into 
serious  difficulties.  He  had  run  headlong  into  pedes- 
trians who,  thinking  him  a  footpad,  had  loudly 
called  for  the  Watch.  Needless  to  say.  Jumbo  did 
not  wait  for  its  arrival.  He  had  collided  in  the  hall 
downstairs  with  Peter,  the  butler,  who  had  staggered 
back  against  the  wall,  with  the  ejaculation:  "The 
good  Lord  ha"  mercy!"  On  recognizing  Jumbo,  he 
had  dealt  the  boy  a  hearty  cuff  upon  the  ear,  which 
had  only  served  to  expedite  his  progress. 

"Massa  Ferrers,  he  say  'Hurry,  hurry!'"  cried 
Jimibo. 

Evel3m,  to  whom  the  note  was  addressed,  opened 
it  and  read  that  at  any  moment  a  force  would  be 
sent  at  the  instigation  of  Prosser  Williams  to  arrest 
her.  Lord  Bellomont  had  spoken  plainly  of  the 
matter,  describing  the  accused  as  "an  insolent  and 
pernicious  Papist,  who  broke  all  laws  and  consorted 
openly  with  the  enemies  of  the  King's  Government." 
The  matter  was  so  urgent  that  Ferrers  implored  her 
to  take  instar.t  measures  for  her  safety.  _  She  must 
find  concealment  somewhere,  until  her  friends  could 


A  BLOW  THREATENS  257 

arrange  for  her  escape  to  her  father.    The  youne 
mM  did  not  say  in  the  letter,  what  he  ver?  weU 
knew  to  be  the  case,  that  the  arrest  would  be  amply 
a  cover  for  the  designs  of  Prosser  Williams.    T^at 
nuscreant,  as  he  could  fancy,  would  bring  all  pressure 
il^f^J^5?'!i^  Evelyn's  release,  making  marriage 
with  luiMelf  the  cooditjon.    He  would  promise  the 
«itnonties  that,  once  he  had  become  master  of  the 
situation  and  the  girt  had  been  freed  from  the  per- 
maous  influence  of  her  father,  he  could  guarantee 
that  die  would  become  a  good  Protestant,  or  at 
le^t  be  made  to  conform  to  the  estabUshed  teKgion 
and  abandon  all  her  dangerous  practices.    Evelyn 
m  riding  Captain  Ferrers'  note,  was  able  to  piec^ 
out  for  herself  very  much  of  what  he  <fid  not  say 
bhe  too  knew  that  this  action  of  Captain  Williams 
If  actuated  m  the  first  instant  by  revenge,  was  but 
a  stq)  to  the  prosecution  of  his  suit.    For  an  instant 
she  felt  helpless  and  bewildered.    Then  she  roused 
herself  and  read  aloud  to  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  aU 
that  the  young  man  had  written  save  one  manly  and 
tender  sentence  wherein  he  had  placed  himself  at 
her  service,  declaring  that  he  was  willing,  could  it 
advance  her  interest,  to  resign  his  position  at  once. 
With  a  sigh,  Evelyn  decided  that  such  an  action 
on  his  part  would  be  fatal.    It  would  incense  Lord 
beuomont  more  than  ever  if  he  were  to  lose  one  of 
ms  favonte  officers  on  account  of  this  girl 

.u   ^?^^*,Hy,*^®°  ^^  *°  "^ss  the  Van  Cortlandts* 
tnreshold.    Madam  cried,  "to  seize  my  guest?" 

But  abnost  as  she  spoke  she  remembered  Nicholas 
tJayard  and  her  heart  sank  within  her 


CHAPTER  XIV 


AN  ALLIANCE  OF  HATB 


•111 


ON  ue  afternoon  of  that  memorable  day  a 
cunous  conversation  took  place  between  Myn- 
heer de  Vries  and  the  newly-wedded  husband  of 
Pcdly  Van  Cortlandt.  The  two  had  met  on  the 
covered  bridge  in  front  of  the  Stadt  Huys,  where 
merchants  were  in  the  habit  of  congregating  of  a 
morning  to  barter  goods,  and  where,  by  order  of  the 
Governor,  a  formal  meeting  was  held  every  Friday 
after  eleven  of  the  clock.  But  there  were  no  mer- 
cantile men  on  the  premises  just  then,  and  no  hint 
of  traffic,  as  the  pair  stopped  for  a  moment  to  chat, 
leaning  on  the  wooden  railing  and  looking  down  into 
tho  waters  of  the  Graft  or  Pond,  as  it  took  its  slow 
way  through  Broad  Street.  When  they  had  con- 
vereed  a  little  on  current  topics,  and  the  yoimg  hus- 
band had  responded  indifferently  to  the  compliments 
which  the  elder  man  paid  him  on  the  subject  oi  his 
bride,  young  Laurenu  broke  out  hotly  on  the  matter 
of  Nicholas  Bayard's  arrest,  which  he  declared  had 
been  only  too  long  delayed.  His  listener  was  by 
no  means  averse  to  hearing  the  young  man's  views, 
adroitly  leading  h'm  on  by  questions  which  conveyed 
nothing  of  his  own  opinion.  Also,  Henricus  was  in- 
duced by  the  same  skilful  process  to  air  his  discontent 
with  the  part  which  the  Van  Cortlandts  had  played 


AN  ALLIANCE  OF  HATE  259 

frwn  the  first  in  political  aSairs,  aUgning  themselves 
**«  ^^  ^**»  ^^  people's  enenUes.  """^^^ 
Ma^K^^  ^^  ^K^^^'  '^"le  niaintaining  with 
djgnity  and  r^lutely  his  own  cautious  positioS  upon 

M^T^fiu  ^r  ^??^"e*i  himself  neither  to  kny 
blame  of  the  Van  Cortlandts  nor  to  any  deprecation 
of  thetr  opponents.  He  prided  himsdf  oS  having 
the  nght  word  for  every  emergency,  and  he  had  long 
ago  taken  the  measure  <rf  this  fanatic,  whose  narrow 
ana  puntamcal  nature  was  accentuated  by  the 
traimng  of  a  Calvinistic  mother,  and  who  wm  also 
t^T^  to  ingratiate  himself  with  John  Nanfan. 
and  through  hrni  with  Lord  BeUombnt.  In  such 
3t"V*  ^^^^.  Mynheer  to  be  cautious,  and 
cautious  he  accordingly  was. 

™li^™-?^"  1  *°^  grievance  even  against  my  newly- 
wed  OTfe,    Laurens  said  petulantly. 

«,o3!*^.?  ^^  ^  charming."  interposed  Mynheer 

fZt^'  ^7'"^  '""^*  «y  ^  thisUedorbe- 

"Strong  measures  will  be  necessary  with  this 

one     said  the  young  man  with  a  disagreeable  laugh. 

wi^^w^  y*^  ^^^  **e  grievance  is  good  flesh  Mid 
blood,  bone  and  sinew." 

«.^^^  ^1^^  instantly  aware  that  his  com- 
pamon  was  alluding  to  Evelyn 

r^^^^^^^^  ^  estabhshed  herself  in  the  Van 
CorUandt  homestead  "  said  the  younger  man,  sourly. 

iiSndL^/'  ^  ^       '  ^  ^°^^  '*  *^^  ^^2^*  °* 

an!i^^^'^'"'-"u^'*  Mynheer,  shaking  a  reproving 
Md  v«y  waggish  finger  at  him,  "you  are  speaking 
dt^fW°;.,^  a  PopuJar  decree,  has  been  declared 

wSiul^^f^"^-  The  beaux  hereabouts  credit 
ner  with  both  beauty  and  parts." 


1 

1: 

I: 

f 

i6o    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

"She  has  the  art  to  perfection  of  deooving  or- 
dinary men,"  said  Henricus,  with  an  air  which 
plainly  said  he  conddered  himself  extraordinary. 
"She  has  never  drawn  the  wool  over  my  eyes,  and 
never  will." 

"Yours,"  said  Mynheer,  indigently,  "were  en- 
gaged with  one  so  surpassingly  fair-^" 

His  companion  waved  an  impatient  hand  as  if 
scomftd  of  the  suggestion,  but,  do  as  he  would, 
there  suddenly  rose  before  him  a  vision  of  Polly 
as  he  had  first  known  her.  Boy  and  girl  together, 
they  had  belonged  to  the  same  Company.  As  chil- 
dren, they  had  picked  berries  together,  skated  on 
the  pond,  or  coasted  down  that  steep  hill  leading  to 
the  bridge  where  the  men  now  stood.  Later  they 
had  continued  that  good  comradeship,  which,  in 
the  case  of  Laurens,  had  ripened  into  warmer  senti- 
ments. Latirens  forgot  for  a  moment  Mynheer, 
who  was  watching  him  intently,  and  his  own  griev- 
ances. He  seemed  to  see  Polly  the  leader  of  their 
Company,  bright,  gay  and  vivacious,  imposing  her 
views  upon  them  all.  On  that  very  hill  she  had 
stood  as  a  queen,  and  he  an  abject  slave.  If  it 
pleased  him  immensely  to  recall  her  thus,  his  pleasure 
was  by  no  means  diminished  by  the  thought  that 
now  and  henceforward  it  was  for  him  to  command 
and  Polly  to  obey.  His  will  must  henceforth  be 
dominant.  He  was  jubilant  at  the  reflection,  which 
in  turn  had  led  to  another.  He  remembered  how 
his  enniiiy  to  Evelyn  dated  from  the  time  when  the 
latter  liaci  outrivalled  Polly,  as  a  child  at  first  and 
later  as  a  woman.  He  had  bitterly  resented  her 
beauty  and  her  charm,  which  had  led  to  the  defection 
even  of  Pieter  Schuyler  and  others  of  the  Manhattan 
youth,  who  were  bound  by  every  conventional  law 


AN  ALLIANCE  OF  HATE  261 

^^^^f""**°f°"?-  For  cveiy  bit  of  social 
EJSf^i'",^!*'  that  had  been  hers,  he  hated 
Evehrn  in  ahnost  greater  measure  than  for  her  ner- 
aonal  dislike  of  himself,  which  she  had  Zv»h^ 

ll^Th^rff-  He  was  quite  awaiTSiara 
Evdyn  had  had  her  way,  there  would  have  b^ 
no  Polly  waiting  for  him  at  home  in  timt  pi^ 
house  overlooking  the  Fort  and  the  BowUng  Green. 
M  these  recoUections  passed  through  his  Tnind  in 
swft  succesaon  as  his  eyes  rested  on  that  hiU  of  old 
^^^TL?^^^^  **  *^«  ^^°^eht  of  the  triumph 
^iw  l^S  ^^  *"  "nanying  Polly-a  triumph  the 
greater  for  the  slow  persistence  by  which  she  had 
bem  won;  and  he  promised  himself  a  fresh  triumph 
over  Evelyn,  when  he  should  compel  Polly  to  k^ 
to  at  a  distance  d  not  to  break  off  all  relatioS 
jmn  her.  He  had  heard  some  rumors  which  filled 
han  with  a  vague  hope  that  Evelyn  might  be  dis- 

^  hL'anlrS."  "^"  ^^^  *°  ^"^  ^ 
Mynheer  had  meanwhile  been  waiting  patiently 
mitU  his  compamon  should  speak  again.  He  saw 
o^^  !rr^*®  softness  and  harshness  of  his  face, 
M^d  that  dreamy  look  fixed  upon  the  hill,  which 
gave  him  a  cue  to  the  other's  thoughts.  When 
young  Laurens  spoke  it  was  to  disavow  any  other 
motive  for  his  depreciation  of  Evelyn  than  that  he 
was  unusually  clear-sighted. 

=nt7°°..nT"''^^?^'^  ^y  ^^■"  ^d  Mynheer,  pleas- 
antly.    Beheve  the  word  of  one  who  is  nigh  double 

s«l^^shJ^t^•* "  ^^  *°  ^°  ^^""^^  ^^  ^^ 

♦t,?I  '",^  thiiiking  at  the  same  time,  as  he  regarded 

rf  f^^  T^  "^"^  ^***  ^°^  ^>  ^hat  a  n^ure 
Of  fool  and  png,  and  possibly  knave,  this  young  man 


Miaiocorr  •esoiution  test  chart 

(ANSI  end  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


1.0    Ifi^  1^ 


A  -APPLIED  IM/IGE    In 

^B--;  '653  Eost   Main    Street 

BTJ:  Rochester.  Ne*   Yorh         U609       USA 

■^—  (716)   482  -  0300  -  Phone 

^»  (716)   2S8  -  5989  -  Fa> 


262     GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

had  turned  out.  Aloud  he  spoke  cheerily,  inviting 
his  companion  to  come  up  to  the  house  and  have  a 
pipe  of  choice  tobacco  and  a  glass  of  Madeira,  which 
had  come  straight  from  overseas.  _ 

"Through  the  Customs  I  will  hope,"  said  Henn- 
cus,  but  his  laugh  this  time  was  more  genial,  for  the 
afternoon  was  wearing  chill  and  Mynheer's  wine 
was  notably  good.  ,      ,  .  r  . 

Mynheer  waved  aside  the  subject  after  his  graceful 
fashion,  and  on  they  went  until,  at  the  gate  of  the 
now  deserted  cottage,  the  younger  man  stopped 
suddenly.  The  profusion  of.  flowers  in  their  very 
luxuriance  suggested  some  neglect,  and  Mynheer, 
who  felt  uneasy,  was  fearful  lest  his  companion 
would  guess  the  secret  that  he  himself  had  been  at 
pains  to  conceal.  , .       « 

"I  wonder  where  this  de  Lacey  keeps  himself 
hidden,"  Laurens  said  suspiciously. 

"Buried  in  his  books  they  tell  me,  exclaimed 
Mynheer,  with  a  careless  wave  of  his  hand.  ^^ 

"You  are  his  nearest  neighbor  and  should  know, 
said  Laurens,  "but  he  must  be  lost  in  contemplation 
at  the  present  moment,  for  he  has  no  light." 

"He  is  an  odd  fish,"  conceded  Msmheer,  '  a  far 
other  sort  of  person  than  you  and  I,  who  value  most 
the  society  of  our  kind." 

"His  kind,"  said  Laurens,  slowly  and  venomously, 
"would  be  dangerous."  _  .     „ 

"In  quality,  perchance,  but  not  m  quantity, 
said  Mynheer,  Ughtly,  making  a  move  onwards. 
"I  mean  that  there    re  not  many  of  his  hke. 

"So  much  the  better  for  these  colonies,  cned 
Laurens,  still  vindictively.  "I  would  hke  passing 
well  to  have  a  peep  at  him  and  his  books  just  now. 
What  say  you.  Mynheer?" 


hr. 


\'i  H 


AN  ALLIANCE  OF  HATE  263 

persua^te^^  "°1  ^^  ^^V^'^^  °^'  ^^^^^is,"  he  said, 

nif^H?    '^"^'^"gly  abandoned  Ws  investigation 
tor  though  he  had  heard  no  word  as  yet  of  Mr  dP 

wWch  iTn'f  ^^  ^PP^^  ^y  ^  sentenceTS; 
r.i»„  ^  '^^^  '?*  '^"P  ^hen  the  name  of  Evelvn  de 
Lacey  came  again  to  the  surface,  and  which  were  the 
KrThoV»  <^^PProvai.  even  of  sZthered 
,vfr.  t^"    ^''°"g'>  Mynheer  frowned  darkly  the  ODk, 

Xl="%^?'^''.'*^'  *°S^*^^  ^th  the  two  or  S^ 
glasses  of  Madeira  that  young  Laurens  ha H^,^^ 

JZT"*  f "  '^"^'^  to?gue.^^d  Vrowle^^s 
S^  bSJe"^n°'^°.*  T'y  things  wWch  had 
tl^t  tKri  "^^^  to  her.  and  which  showed 

SrflJe^w'A""'''''"^"*'  ^d  probably  at 
Ihe  conversation  gave  Mvnheer  nkn    oe  »,»  tj 

Soil  s  £^™S4'^^r.'?;  sa-cTS 

i-acey  had  been  engaged,  or  at  Ipa^f  tho*.  *i..r^_- 


i      3< 


engaged,  or  at  least  that  that 


was 


m 


464    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

not  his  only  offence.  But  the  knowledge  made  him 
mentally  determined,  in  so  far  as  his  own  personal 
security  and  convenience  permitted,  to  befriend  both 
the  girl  and  her  father.  Against  his  wife,  whose 
dull  eyes  glowed  and  who  had  so  evidently  enjoyed 
to  the  full  young  Laurens'  tirades  against  the  girl. 
Mynheer  was  filled  with  indignation,  and  he  re- 
solved to  make  her  feel  his  resentment  in  a  variety 
of  ways. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE    BLOW    FALLS 

Wwlifstml?'  Van  Cortlandt  and   Evelyn 
turned  pale,  and  Evelyn  for  t      I'nifl^f  J-ortlandt 


I     I 


266     GERALD  dh  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

for  the  daytime.    It  was  not  to  that  bed  hcj^ever^ 

seemed  like  a  cupboard     ^appily^ere  w^ 

SK^re^S'  Sle"^— .  listening  eagerly 
^"l^°S'C  cSandt  hastily  despatched  her 

Z^ediate&  recognized  a^  .-T^SsSLn'Son 
'^otrpd  and  their  insensate  rage  agamst  ±'op«7. 

you  into  my  house. 


THE  BLOW  lALLS 


267 


The  business  of  the  Lord,"  answered  the  leader 
who  was  a  New  Englander  and  a  Puritan,  "as  well 
as  that  of  the  King's  Majesty,  and  of  His  Excellency 
our  good  Governor." 

"If  you  will  name  that  business,  I  may  be  en- 
abled to  understand  the  motive  for  this  unseason- 
able intrusion." 

"A  warrant  has  been  issued  on  complaint  of  divers 
persons  against  a  member  of  the  accursed  Popish 
sect,  whom  you  are  said  to  harbor  under  this  roof 
—one  Mistress  de  Lacey,  who  has  made  herself 
anienable  to  the  law  by  consorting  with  Jesuits 
and  the  enemies  of  the  King's  Government,  and 
has  stnven  to  draw  savages  from  their  allegiance 
by  teaching  them  pernicious  and  abhorrent  doctrines, 
and  brmging  them  under  the  dominion  of  foreign 
Mass-priests  and  the  French  of  Canada." 

The  charges,  thus  formulated  against  Evelyn  and 
put  in  concrete  form,  startled  the  old  lady,  though 
die  had  heard  much  of  their  general  tenor  from  Mr 
de  Lacey.  The  matter,  as  now  stated,  seemed  to 
her  very  serious,  and  for  an  instant  she  did  not  know 
what  reply  to  make. 

"There  is  no  one  under  the  roof  of  a  Van  Cort- 
landt,"  she  answered,  "who  is  a  traitor  to  the  King's 
Government." 

"Can  you  deny,  at  least,"  cried  the  leader,  "that 
there  is  here  one  Evelyn  de  Lacey,  a  Papist,  pro- 
fessmg— yea,  practising,  in  so  far  as  she  may— the 
abhorrent  doctrines  of  Rome?" 
1  j"^f.  '■^'^gioi  of  '^y  guests,"  said  the  stout  old 
lady,  is  a  matter  between  their  Creator  and  them- 
selves. I  neither  know  nor  seek  to  know  how  they 
worship  God.  Nor  will  I  give  you  information  of 
any  sort  to  help  in  your  nefarious  task," 


» 


268     GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

"Do  you,  then,  obstruot  the  officere  of  the  law. 
who  bv  the  King's  warrant,  seek  a  pnsoner? 

"in  no  waydo  I  obstruct  you,"  responded  Madam 
"You  ^  free  to  search  this  house  from  the  garret 
to  t^  X,  though  I  warn  you  that  I  diall  protest 
against  the  outrage  in  the  prop«- q^^f^-        . 

"Protest  an  you  wiU,"  retorted  the  leader,    my 

^%' wllien,  exchanging  glances,  betrayed  some 
une^nei.  V^  Cortlandt  had  long  been  a  name  ^ 
coniure  with  in  these  colgmes,  and  the  Enghsh 
C  So^had  oftentimes  changed  w^th  portentous 
SxSnlL  from  one  faction  to  ffother  however, 
fhpv  had  no  resource  but  to  follow  their  leader. 
«ln  Xr  di^^ding  his  men  so  that  some  should 
«^u?on  tti^^ound  floor,  mounted  the  stair- 
wS^o  institute  Ws  search.  The  mistress  of  the 
holse  had  instructed  Peter  to  attend  the  search- 
Srtv  aSd  the  old  negro,  indignant  at  an  intrusion 
ffih  tXs  mind  infringed  upon  the  family  digmty 
Sly  obeyed.  AU  the  while  he  cast  funo'^^  glanc^ 
at  them  rolling  his  eyes  so  that  httle  ..cept  the 
whiS  showed;' but  he  knew  that  any  attempt  at 
««a<itance  would  be  worse  than  useless. 

iSg  hS,  Madam  meanwhile  awaited  with 
stSTcomisure  'the  outcome  of  that  s^ch  w^di 
was  of  so  momentous  importance  f°^th«n  all.  H« 
sleeoine  apartment  being  at  the  top  of  the  staars 
iKard  above  her  head  the  heavy  tread  of  the 
fnauiltors  She  was  aware  that  they  ..ad  crossed 
Solm  and  approached  her  bedstead  wluch  in  its 
solemn  dignity  might  have  seemed  sufficient  to  over- 
Iwe^y  iSs  finatical  folk  than  those  who  had  come^ 
WheHhey  had  gone  thus  far,  she  leaned  back  in 
S  di^^d.  closing  her  eyes,  waited  breathlessly. 


THE  BLOW  FALLS 


269 


tix^u  ?^i^  *^^  moments  seemed  like  hours. 
km!i  K  .  "^  "l^^  ^^^'  so  as  to  be  completely 
^h^^\  I'^^J^^  two  mattresses,  at  the  moment 
when  she  heard  the  search-party  mounting  the  stairs. 

«^w.  i'^.i.*^^i'".^'*'"P'"8  ^'•oind  the  room, 
poking  under  the  bed,  moving  aside  some  heaW 
pieces  of  furmture  and  tossing  things  about  reck- 
lessly, as  if  to  show  their  contempt  for  the  verv- 
nchness  of  the  appointments.  They  prodded  the 
bed  and,  raising  the  linen  valance,  looked  under- 
neatn.  ihen  someone  said  something  about  the 
bedsteandan  argument  ensued.  During  its  continu- 
ance the  blood  throbbed  in  Evelyn's  ears,  and  her 
heart  beat  so  painfully  that  she  could  scarcely  hear. 
The  contention  seemed  to  be  that  surely  there  would 
A  i'?  f^^'^f,^  "*  ^^'^  luxuriously  furnished  and 
Anghfied  dwelling.  Evelyn  was  beginning  to  breathe 
more  freely,  when  one  fellow,  who  had  been  espe- 
ciaUy  persistent  in  maintaining  that  no  Dutch  house 
-^and  particularly  one  which  had  bxn  begun  in 
pioneer  times— could  be  complete  without  a  sleeping 
cupboard  suddenly  thrust  his  hand  between  its 
doors  and  the  great  bedstead. 

"It  is  there,"  he  cried  with  triumph,  and  he  strove 
toc^n  the  doors  m  so  far  as  was  possible 

»f  fhlli  .^  ^•"  fF^^  Captain  Ransom,  angered 
at  the  obstmacy  of  his  subordinate, "how  could  any- 
one have  reached  there  without  moving  that  weiehtv 
piece  of  furmture,  a  thing  manifestly  impossible  for 
a  young  and  slender  woman?  For  it  must  be  re- 
S  i  that  the  occupants  of  this  dwelling, 
whither  the  Lord  has  sent  us,  could  have  no  knowt 
edge  of  our  coming,  since  aU  our  proceedings  were 
attended  with  the  utmost  secrecy." 
This  seemed  an  unanswerable  argument,  but  the 


..■     '    I    ' 


270  GERALD  de  LACEV'S  DAUGHTER 
man  who  had  discovered  the  hedsie,  unwilling  to  be 
deprived  of  the  merit  of  his  d»sS?''T''i.  .X  . 
as  near  as  possible  to  the  aperture.  FmaUy  he  thn^t 
his  pike  down  into  the  feather  bed.  But  for  the 
thickness  of  the  mattress,  the  body  of  the  brave  prt 
would  most  certainly  have  been  transpierced,  iix- 
ercising  wonderrul  self-control,  Evelyn  uttered  no 
sound  and  made  not  the  slightest  movement.  Only 
her  Ups  moved  in  a  simple  and  earnest  prayer  tor 
help  and  safety.  She  had  been  asking  all  along, 
as  she  lay  there,  that  Divine  protection  might 
be  with  her,  that  the  Mother  of  God  a^d  her 
good  angel  might  watch  over  her —  not  for  her 
own  sake  alone,  but  also  the  sake  of  her  hospitable 

entertainers.  „u,n„.t„ 

Fortunately  the  leader,  who  was  an  obstinate 
man.  had  made  up  his  mind  that  no  hiimaVemg 
could  have  forced  a  way  in  between  the  bedstead 
and  the  cupboard,  and  that  there  would  not  have 
been  time  to  move  the  former.  And  even  the  man 
who  had  taken  pride  in  the  discovery  of  what  he 
beUeved  might  be  a  place  of  conceahnent.  after  a 
few  more  futile  thrusts  and  after  flashing  his  lanthorn 
through  the  chinks  of  the  cupbo^d.  was  almost 
convinced  that  no  one  could  be  hidmg  there.  Vm, 
even  if  she  succeeded  in  effecting  an  entrance,  he 
thought  she  would  certainly  have  betrayed  her 
presence  by  an  exclamation,  a  scream  or  a  move- 
ment. And  so  the  leader  gave  the  order  and  th^ 
moved  away.  Evelyn,  with  devo^ttj'^'^ff^ 
for  the  visible  protection  which  had  been  accorded 
her.  still  lay  motionless,  while  she  heard  the  heavy 
tramp  of  the  searchers  ascending  to  the  upper  story. 
Only  then  did  she  momentarily  uncover  her  face 
and  take  a  deep  breath.    The  man  had  left  the  door 


THE  BLOW  FALLS  171 

of  the  cupboard  open,  so  that  the  Intolerable  close- 
ness of  the  atmosphen  was  somewhat  relieved. 

However,  she  was  pon  her  guard,  feeling  con- 
vinced that  there  mi^.^c  be  danger  yet,  and  that  the 
man  who  had  seemed  more  suspicious  than  the  rest 
might  come  stealing  back  for  a  final  examination 
of  that  possible  hiding-place.  Prepared  for  such  an 
event,  Evelyn  heard  the  stealthy  step  of  the  fellow, 
who  apparently  still  had  hopes  of  surprising  the 
fugitive.  She  drew  her  head  well  in  underneath 
the  two  feather  mattresses  and  lay  motionless  as 
before.  Once  more  she  was  in  imminent  danger  from 
the  pike-thrusts  which  the  .'ellow  plentifully  be- 
stowed upon  the  mattresses.  They  were  of  a  thick- 
ness to  defy  him,  and,  in  sullen  disappointment,  he 
rejoined  his  comrades.  The  whole  party,  crestfallen 
and  sheeiHsh,  went  downstairs  again  to  where  Madam 
Van  Cortlandt  was  waiting  to  receive  them  with 
cutting  reproaches  and  cutting  sarcasm. 

''I  trust,"  said  she,  "that  you  have  found  to  your 
liking  this  poor  dwelling,  which  has  been  inhabited 
by  three  generations  of  Van  Cortlandts,  all  loyal 
men  and  true  to  King  and  country." 

"We  are  the  humble  servants  of  the  Lord,"  said 
Captain  Ransom,  "and  this  work  was  given  to  us  to 
do,  against  the  mighty  no  less  than  the  lowly." 

"Against  an  aged  widow  and  a  defenceless  girl?" 
asked  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  severely.  "I  trust 
that  no  such  work  may  be  given  to  the  men  of 
my  race,  nor  ca  ^  I  believe  that  the  Lord  will  sanc- 
tion it." 

The  leader  scowled,  but  he  could  fii.J  no  ready 
answer,  and,  giving  the  signal  for  his  men  to  depart, 
he  paused  upon  the  threshold  of  the  room  to  hurl 
back  a  defiance, 


272     GERALD  DE  LACEVS  DAUGHTER 

"Woe  to  those  who  seek  the  company  of  the 
wicked'  their  iniquity  shall  find  them  out! 
'^•^n  which  casi  it'should  have  found  you  out 
lone  ago.  Tobias  Ransom."  said  Madam  Van  Cort- 
andt  "Take  your  own  warning  and  depart  from 
E  in  pea^  Jthout  adding  to  the  offence  already 

~?Sbabfy"it  was  that  consideration  which  «:ause^ 
him  to  refrain  from  further  speech  and  to  lead  his 
S'down  the  gravelled  walk  and  away  ^hrough 
the  iron  gates  into  the  town.    The  light  I™/"  j"f 
SnthCsf  hung  out  by  each  .^ven^h  Jou^J'^fj; 
Wl  utxjn  them  as  they  marched  away,  ana  tneir 
SotstC^o^seemed  to  break  the  Hlence  of  Man- 
hattan     Madam  Van  Cortlandt  Ustened  ti  1  she 
5:Sd"hem  dying  away  in  the  distance^  Jhen^^^ly . 
but  with  a  heavy  heart,  she  '"°"«\«lj*^i.*^"  „° 
release  Evelyn  and  to  assure  herself  of  her  young 
^S  momentary  safety.    The  two  women  stood 
toeether  in  Madam's  room,  looking  into  each  other  s 
ffi  for  tmces  of  the  late  ordeal.and  recountmg  their 
experiences.    At  last  Evelyn  said: 

"But  I  must  not  remain  another  hour  here-    ^ 
have  even  now  brought  too  much  trouble  upon  this 

^""-nie  house  can  take  care  of  itself.  I  opine."  said 
MaS.  tS  to  speak  Ughtly.  "but  it  «  or  you^ 
safety  that  I  am  apprehensive.  This  same  or  an 
othe/ search-party  may  return,  with  a  le^'l ^^3 
wise  in  his  own  conceit  and  more  fuUy  informea  as 
to  your  recent  presence  here."  „  ... 

•'These  men  or  some  others  wiU  return,  deciarea 
Eve^Hedsively.  "and  I  am  absolutely  convinced 
that  there  is  not  a  moment  to  lose.  „. 

For  she  was  thinking  of  Prosser  Williams.    She 


THE  BLOW  FALLS 


273 


S^  innH  It"  ^u  '^'^y  '"dignity,  which  would 
nevCT  abandon  the  chase  once  he  had  embarked  upon 
Jt  She  could  picture  to  herself  his  rage,  though  her 
imagimngs  fell  far  short  of  the  truth,  knd  how  he 
J  ..j"^  .?  "^'^  unsuccessful  seekers.  "Fools" 
"""R  ^  tvJ'°"''^  ^  '*»**  '""'^^^t  of  Ws  epithets, 
in  ™^i  '^>'^'"?:^*"  y°"  80?"  inquired  the  old  lady, 
m  perplexity    "You  dare  not  leave  the  city  to-night 

R^/^^r^.^'^Kf,  ^y^'^^"  end  by  the  Boston  Post 
Road  will  doubtless  be  watched,  and,  as  to  the  houses 
Of  our  kindred,  every  one  would  be  suspect." 

She  paused  and  added  with  a  sigh : 
„vt.f  1^  ^•^*?°'  *"®  ^^^  informed.  wouM  give  her 
husband^^       ^""^  ^°"'  "  ^^"^^^^^  with  such  a 

"I  will  not  enter  into  any  Y   ase,"  declared  Evelvn 

whi/tSlT-  rf°'^^°"^  outV  repealing  X 
where  the  trouble  and  inconvenience  which  I  have 
occaaoned  here.  I  will  go  to  the  Wilden.  Their 
island  hab  sheltered  others  before  now  ir  roublous 
times.,  and  it  will  shelter  me  until  the  h.     and  «^ 

faThen"  ^""^^  *  ""^^  ^^  **  ''  ^^  *°  '^J'''"  "V 
.  Madam  looked  at  the  girl  doubtfully,  for,  th'^usli 
in  some  respects  the  plan  commended  itself  to  ho-, 
she  could  not  bear  to  think  of  the  hardships  and  diV 

so°'?r?ot? ""'''  '"""^  •"  ^"^^^  "P-  °- 

"WfV^  ^-f"  *r"''  these  savages?"  she  inquired. 
With  my  hfe."  answered  Evelyn.    "I  have  been 

^^L'^Z^■^  °^  ^^r^  *"^"'  ^"^  ^^^y  have  made 
with  me  the  Silver  Covenant  of  friendship,  which 
IS  a  tie  they  never  break." 

tim  J^  ^°"  "*}"  ^  '^^'  "1  *™*.  at  least  for  the 
time  bemg."  admitted  the  old  lady,  who  had  no 


i 

•1  ' 

'r 

■      'i' 

,74     GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

inconsiderable  knowledge  of  the  maBners  and  customs 

°'^K"£!Ue  to  me."  declared  Evetyn  "a.^ 
,  luli  !r  rmTnlace  of  concealment  and  prayea 
5^  h£U  Sd£!  -  that  I  regard  it  as  prov.- 
dential."  .    .  j+  jg  g^  »  assented 

^^^Ty'?"■K    f  "  rallied  Evelyn,  "that  I  go  thither 

was  brave  and  de^^^^UhoSThiS  which 
her  only  a  very  ^laUpa^f^ffh  from  their  place  of 
conceahn^t  Jhen  m^g  .^^^^^  ^^  ^  ^  i 
S'llkng  oftir  oW  friend,  she  set  out  mto  the 
darkness  of  night. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

A  NOCTURNAL  FLIGHT 

T^^Jot^^^  an  experience  which  Evelyn   never 

1   forgot,  even  m  the   stiU  more   thrimng  ones 

which  came  after.     Wrapped  in  a  dark    hooded 

S?' wh-  ^"^"^  ^"'^S  ^'^^  '^^^'  °f  the  hTdge 
rows,  which  were  now  tummg  yeUow  or  in  that  of 
the  iron  railings,  which  seemi^  Si^y  to  shut 
in  the  vanous  residences.  She  pissed  by  d°  ,^ous 
ways  from  Queen  Street  into  the  Broad  Way  tom- 

SLtLt'  '°""V  ^  ^PP^aching  fooTS)  "nto 
Gkssmakep  or.  Pieweman's  Street?  the  names  of 
which  had  lately  been  changed,  in  honor  of  th^g^! 
ing  sovweign.  to  William  and  Nassau.  ^ 

She  then  pursued  a  straight  course  beside  the  deeo 
stream  that  rail  through  the  heart  of  the  town  S 
a  path  on  either  side.    There  were  momen^',^en 

^hJ^Z^TtJ^"^^-''^-  ^-^  *«  cowered  i^  the 
sftadow  of  a  wall  or  m  some  masonry  behind  an 
abutment,  lest  a  belated  passer-by  shoSd  reZjh^ 
00  closely  or  ask  questions.  For  it  was  r^S^d 
hatten    «^"  ,f  °"%^*  "^t^  °"  '^^  streets  of  S 

closed  and^hT^  ^^  ^^l  "^^  ^^^^^  ^^  been 
Closed  and  the  guns  from  the  Port  proclaimed  the 

SiTant  ZX  ^li'''  l'^^^^^  pump  she  parsed  an 
mstant  for  breath,  and  she  could  not  teU  whv  but 
the  ghastly  stoiy  connected  with  the  place  cS  back 


i<:  -ii 


,76  GERALD  DB  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 
to  her.  She  r^c^d  how  a  young^^  had^be^^ 
brought  to  trial  before  the  co^  ^^^  o„e  sleigh- 
murder  of  his  ^^^^heart.  ^  na  S^^^^^in 
riding  in  his  company.  H«^^^^iy  the  lurid  re- 
ft weU  by  tl^s  Plac*.    Ai^uaa«>y  ^^^^^ 

flection  of  that  tragedy  ^^^^ed  from  the  spot, 
and  to  depress  her  spmts^^^^  ^^^^  o^t 
but  not  before  a  «^  ^^^loak  closely  around 

her  cloak.  ,  ,        j    t^is  who  goes  so 

"What  pretty  hght  o  loj«  ^  ^^^  ^  swift  pang 

late?"  cried  a  husky  voice^^^hich. Cognized  ^ 

at  once  of  terror  and  dis^st^^en^^  ^^  ^^  ^^^^ 

of  Captain  Gi^tbatd^.   He  <^ugn  ^^  ^ 

Srrfrl  H^TanSr^again  hurried  on.  crymg: 
"Detain  me  at  your  peru-  _,t,ptted  bv  this 

oStbatch.  whose  c^rro^Jf,  £*^th  whom 

behavior,  df  «™^  huS  aft^  h^a^  ^^^^^  ^ 
he  had  to  deal.  He  ^^^  ^^uld  permit.  Both 
his  balf-intoxicated  condrtion^uia  ^^^^  ^^ 

pursuer  and  pursued  'jere  con^mg  i  ^^^ 

belancey  apple  orch^.  whidi  tte  prt  n   ^^^  ^^^^ 

to  enter  with  tlus  »?^^^!?J^jSrt  not  be  better 
an  instant,  considering  wheA^^tmignt^^^^^^^ 

to  make  him  aware  of  her  identi^o  ^^eme. 

of  action,  she  felt,  would^d^g^^i;^    1^  j^^  ^d. 

While  she  hesitated,  ^^^fhood  backwards,  thus 
with  a  shaip  ]erk  puUed  the  hooQ  d  ^^^  ^ 

rcvealine  a  face  that  was  «*^^"'y  V,  „v»^k      The 


A  NOCTURNAL  FLIGHT 


277 


appearance  or  that  discovery  might  have  cost  her 
dear.  As  it  was,  he  stood  stiU,  surprised  and  mo- 
mentarily abashed  at  the  unexpected  sight  of  that 
lovely,  refined  countenance  as  it  was  revealed  by 
a  hght  from  the  lanthom  which  hung  from  a  neieh- 
bonng  pole. 

TTiough  the  glimpse  of  that  countenance,  which 
Evelyn  hastened  to  conceal,  did  not  enlighten  Great- 
batch  much,  it  came  with  a  shock  of  amazement  to 
a  tall  man  who  was  walking  hurriedly  towards  the 
pair.  He  had  heard  the  sound  of  voices,  and,  al- 
though he  had  not  recognized  that  of  Evelyn,  he 
felt  certain  that  there  was  a  woman  in  distress.  His 
own  curiosity,  which  was  as  great  as  that  of  the  sailor, 
made  him  hasten  forward.  In  that  one  glimpse  he 
became  aware  that  the  cloaked  figure  was  that  of 
Evdyn  de  Lacey,  and  that  she  was  being  annoyed 
by  Greatbatch.  He  did  not  wait  to  ask  himself  what 
combination  of  circumstances  could  have  brought 
the  girl  here  alone  and  unattended  from  a  household 
so  conservative  as  that  of  Madam  Van  Cortlandt. 
He  only  saw  clearly  that  his  intervention  was  re- 
quired, and  he  laid  a  hand  on  the  ponderous  shoulder 
of  the  smuggler,  with  the  query: 

"What  is  this  roystering?" 

Greatbatch  turned  in  a  fury,  but,  seeing  who  it 
was  that  had  accosted  him,  he  was  sober  enough  to 
moderate  his  tone. 

"Have  you  an  eye  for  a  pretty  wench.  Mynheer?" 
he  inquired,  with  a  wink. 

''Hoity  toity.    What  a  question  to  put  to  a  Mem- 
bo-  of   Council!"   cried    Mynheer,  with   a   laugh. 
And  I  would  advise  you,  my  friend,  to  let  this 
pretty  bird  of  night  go  her  way.    Sometime  I  may 
tell  you  wherefore."  ' 


r 

'  §  mi 

1     : 

]  :' '! 

! 

ill  iii'i' 


278     GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

He  cointed  significantly  towards  the  Fort,  thoi^ 
he^C  U  Xting  to  beUeve  that  the  smugger  s 
Ktmnise  was  correct.    Bending  nearer,  he  whis- 

^^ou  wiU  get  yourself  into  trouble,  my  Grtat- 
batdh^Ttroubte  are  thick  in  your  path  already 

C^^atch  ripped  out  an  oath,  but  he  momentarily 
for^lS  quS?r^««i  Mynheer,  adroitly  plaang 
SlfSaS  before  the  girl,  contrived  to  signal 
to  her  that  she  should  go  upon  her  way.  __ 

"As  I  am  your  true  fnend,  Captain,    he  wms 
-red  to  tbe^s^or,  "I  would  Idvise  you  to  leave  the 
^t     For  yondei  nightingale  has  sharp  eyes  and 
f^uick  ton^e.    Also'  she  may  know  rnore  than  it 
would  be  expedient  for  you  to  have  told.  . 

^m  muttering  and  cursing,  Greatbatch  ti^^ 
upon  his  heel  and  began  to  lurch  away  in  the^- 
Xte  direction,  stopping  ^^ery  °nce  and  a^ 
in  look  back  Until  he  had  turned  a  comer.  Mynheer 
nevCT  mo^.  but,  once  he  had  seen  the  feUow  out 
Cf  Sh"  hrhurried  after  Evelyn     She  on  her  part 

had  S^gnized.  with  mingled  ^f^^^^^^^'^^^JS 
tion   her  influential  neighbor.    If  he  had  delivCTea 
Som  o^  dLger.  miiht  not  the  fact  that  he  had 
SSd  her  inthat  momentary  glance,  when  his 
^^  meeting  hers  were  full  of  recogmtion.  constitute 
a  CTa^^  of  another  sort?   He  would  immediately 
tiS^t  only  an  extraordinary  train  of  cu^- 
l™co,dd  have  brought  her  out .  aus  m  the  dark- 
ness without  protection.  „„:„;„„  h(^ 
"Mistress  de  l.acey,"  the  man  said,  garnmg  her 
side  "I  d^not  know,  nor  shall  I  seek  to  know,  what 
SUtSit  you  hither.    But,  if  I  can  ^e  you, 
y^  may  rely  upon  me  as  your  neighbor    and, 
p^h^Je  you  WiU  aUow  me  to  say,  as  your  fnend. 


A  NOCTURNAL  FLIGHT  279 

Now,  in  making  that  speech,  Mynheer  had  de- 
parted a  good  deal  from  his  habitual  caution.  For 
though,  in  so  far  as  did  not  conflict  with  his  own 
interests,  he  was  disposed  to  serve  both  father  and 
daughter,  partly  from  the  prudential  motives  that 
have  been  previously  explained,  he  certainly  would 
not  run  the  risk  of  endangering  himself.  And  though 
his  sympathy  had  been  strongly  excited  by  that 
glimpse  of  Evelyn's  pale  and  anxious  face,  he  felt 
a  measure  of  relief  when  the  girl,  speaking  in  a  low 
and  unwontedly  tremulous  voice  which  touched  him 
deeply,  said: 

"You  cji  only  serve  me,  Mynheer,  by  being  ab- 
solutely silent  as  to  this  meeting  and  by  a^ng  no 
questions  as  to  my  destination." 

"If  you  could  but  trust  me—"  urged  the  man, 
reproachfully. 

"Believe  me,  it  is  better  not.  As  you  shall  pres- 
ently hear,  I  make  no  doubt,  the  fewer  who  are  in- 
volved in  my  sad  fortunes,  the  better." 

She  held  out  her  hand  in  farewell,  for  she  appreci- 
ated the  genuine  kindliness  in  his  usually  cold  and 
impassive  voice,  and  she  said: 

"Most  heartily  do  I  thank  you.  Mynheer,  for 
yoiu-  offers  of  service  and  good-will." 

There  was  nothing  for  him  to  do  but  retire, 
though  he  watched  Evelyn  till  she  too  was  out  of 
sight,  lest  some  further  misadventure  might  befall 
her.  Meanwhile  he  turned  over  in  his  mind  the  prob- 
lem of  her  destination.  Whither  could  she  be  going, 
and  was  she  in  flight?  If  so,  was  it  for  the  same 
reasons  that  had  induced  her  father  to  take  his  de- 
parture from  the  city?  Slowly  he  retraced  his  steps 
homewards,  while  Evelyn  pursued  her  way  in  a  dead- 
ly loneliness,  terroi'  and  isolation,  which  lay  like  a 


mr  !i 


1:* 

n 


i:.' 


280    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 
paU  on  her  spirits.    The  people  of  Marjatte^  ^t 
Sriy  hours,  and  sleep  w^.over  ^.    0«ly  *f'^|^. 
morincr  liirhts  on  the  warship  m  the  Bay,  tne  waver 
SrSicSn  UgbTfrom  the  lanthoms  on  the  pol^. 
Sfd  Zf^^  othead,  bright  and  d^^  .ntf.e 
azure  like  jewels  in  the  mantle  of  the  Eternal  ^g. 
reUeved  the  darkness.    The  houses  were  all  dark 
S  Sdens  gave  forth  their  frap-ance  mdeed  but 
S  trreniined  of  their  luxuriance  was  hidden 
^der  the  veil  of  night.    The  orchards  rich  with 
fr^fgolden  red  or  purple  by  <Jay  but  now  invisible^ 
Sded  only  to  the  hSst  of  shadows  that  accompanied 
the  rirl  on  her  way.    Even  her  exceUent  nerves  and 
Sgh^^eS  courlge  had  been  ^^n    f  <iJhose 
shadows  distorted  themselves  around  her  into  st^ge 
shao^rL  she  had  to  plunge  into  stretch  after  stretch 
S  SfeS  wWch.  pVble  and  ho«ibleto  her  ^^^ 
turbed  senses,  seemed  to  suffocate  her.   The  shghtest 
n^sTof^^eht  bird  calling  or  stirring  uneasily  in 
?tT  neS  or^fin^ts  rustUng  in  the  dried  grass  by 
K^^de;  rJ.de  her  stari..  A  Wtherto^owj« 
fear  was  her  companion  on  that  lonely  waUc,  tiu  tne 
SXg^  wJ.ich  was  menacing  h^.  and  which 
ShtTt  any  moment  confront  her  faded  "itom- 
Sc^ce.  ^It  seemed  to  her  that  that  ^alk  J^ich 

^^had  so  Ughtly  and  f^a^l^^^y  t^^^^fvToW 
times  would  never  come  to  an  end  and  that  her  old 
Spy  confidence,  the  Hght-h^edn^ J"  h  whi^ 
but  yesterday  she  had  taken  this  path,  would  never 

"^S^tried  to  pray  as  she  hurried  f of^ank.  but  her 
lips  faltered  and  she  felt  it  "upossiWe  to  utter  t^t 
trustful  prayer  of  an  hour  or  two  before,  ■when  sne 
Sd  Koncealed  in  the  bedste  and  y^en  ^^^^^ 
fdt  so  strongly  the  almost  visible  protection  of  her 


A  NOCTURNAL  FLIGHT  281 

Mother  in  heaven  and  of  the  God  for  whom  she  was 
suffering  this  persecution.    Only  once  or  twice  a 
passing  footstep  appaUed  her  with  the  recoUection  of 
Greatbatch.  or  with  the  possibility  of  encounterine 
som«Dne  who  nught   hke  Mynheer,  recognize  her 
Yet  the  sound  cheered  her  and  caused  her  heart  to 
leap  with  a  great  throb  of  reUef ,  when  she  learned 
there  was  someone  besides  herself  awake  in  Manhat- 
tan,   bhe  once  drew  cowering  into  the  shade  of  a 
dump  of  trees,  when  a  belated  wayfarer  passed 
dose  by,  whisthng  the  tune  of  "Money  Musk." 
Then  she  humed  on,  striving  to  cover  as  much  of 
her  way  as  possible  while  that  cheery  sound  was  stiU 
in  her  ears.    And  thus  she,  who  had  never  been  out 
m  the  darkness  alone  before,  amazed  at  her  own 
cowar<hce  and  her  actual  shrinking  from  shadows, 
reached  at  last  her  long-famihar  destination,  the 
indian  encamprient  near  the  Collect  Pond  and  in 
the  shadow  of  the  Catiemuts. 


»:  ■*! 


^1. 


!^1 


CHAPTER  XVII 

SAFE  WITH  THE   WJLDBN 

CVELYN  breathed  a  long,  deep  breach  rf^ 

mmmm 

The  eves  of  the  old  woman  flashed  fire,  and,  drawing 
S-%1?  form  to  its  fuU^dght.  t^^^d^ort^^^^^ 
her  native  tongue  a  ;^°l"^.  *"^^hich  Evelyn 

'"^SS'UnJul  .hake  o(  «..  l-«ad  "^  "~  "' 


SAFE  WITH  THE  JFILDEN         aSj 

^h^^Z""  P"**"*"  ^'^'^h  she  had  adaoted 

There,"  she  said,  "have  the  squaws  and  ft,» 
papooses  remained  hidden  when  the  bravef of  tl 

Eveljm's  eyes  brightened  and  her  cheel«  al««-^ 

was  posable  for  her  friends-Madam  V^Xdi 

delay  in  placing  |er  in  that  plTce  of  X^    cS 
^w  ;  •  *''°"8'»t  necessary  of  their  puest"^ 

'nut,  nuts,  and  cakes  made  from  maize  pounded 


•flif 


,84    GERALD  »K  LACEVS  DAUGHTER 

as  would  be  t~>  ^a^^d^tS^i-  canoe  from 

The  y.o^K/f^Z^^'^Se  a  ^bcr  of  them  lay 
the  shadow  of  the  bMJc^ere  an  ^^^  ^^  ^^ 

in  waiting,  and  prepared  to  paa        ^^  ^^^^_ 
island  Evelyn  and  a  young  P"  v"»  sending  to 

X).  whom  Momca  was  JougWfgyjen^  J 
bear  her  company.  F^  th^  "^^^^^y  wooded 
covered  the  'f.^f  •  f^f  stl^c^ld  sca^ely  pene- 
'"^"^  '^tw  ^'L  iStty'heXdian  girl,  a  true 
*?Jl  *^f^f  foT*s?^arSn Jed  for  her  white  sister  a 
child  of  the  to^*>.*{Ir^  with  an  extemporized 
couch  of  moss  »»»?. '^"^^rj^ne  needles  which 
pfflow  fiUed  w}th  the  fra^t^n^  n         ^ 

Monica  had  given  her.     ^™s„^'r";i,e  verv  depth 
Ket  for  coverlet  was  ^ged  in  ^b^^^^, 

of  the  woodland  t»«<=^^*„^,,''^io^wf    Wearied 
discovery  ^°«l<ii^°  nce^tfthe  Indian  girl 
out.  Evdyn  lay  down  atMioej^t 
stretched  out  at  her  feet  wia  one         ^^^^    ^ook 

standing  sentry.  .J^^^^^^t  f clue  might  be  thus 
back  the  canoe  to  its  place,  lest  a  ciue  nugu 
given  in  the  event  of  Puremt^  oppressed 

^  For  some  time  the  fu^^vel^^wa^     ^^  ^^^^ 

by  the  strangeness  of  ^^  .^"^^^etrable  cur- 
SU  overhead  made  an  ato^Jim^ne^« 

tain,  through  which  she  coidd  c«cn  dui  b 
°*  *^^  ^ihe'^S^hi^T^dSSclepungently 
stronger  in  the  coolness  oi  np^^^yy  hooting  of 
to  her  nostrils,  and  of  y^^-^S^igii  bird,  broke 
an  owl,  or  the  scream.of  some  oth^  mgn^  •  ^^ 
thestiUness.  .Her  rmndrap^y  renewed  t^^^^^ 
of  that  evemng,  startmg  trom  mc  u 


SAFE  WITH  THE  fFILDEN 


285 


distant  moment  when  the  note  of  warning  from  Cap- 
tain Peners  arrived.  The  thought  of  him  rushed 
back  upon  her:  the  slight,  • 'ert  figure,  with  iu 
eagerness  of  movement  and  u  strength  that  was 
expressed  in  every  line  of  the  clear-cut  face  with  its 
well-defined  chin  and  the  steel-grey  eyes.  She  re- 
membered the  look  in  those  eyes  when  she  had  last 
seal  him,  the  tone  of  his  voice  and  his  words,  so  few 
and  yet  so  charged  with  an  emotion  which  told  its 
own  stoiy.  Hers  he  was;  and  her  heart  throbbed 
with  a  gladness  that  all  the  miseries  now  crowding 
fast  upon  her  could  not  suppress.  That  man  of  the 
world  (the  term  being  here  employed  in  a  favorable 
sense),  who  had  come  so  far  and  seen  so  much, 
had  given  himself,  as  he  told  her,  entirely  and  com- 
pletely and  with  a  full  devotion  into  her  hands.  But 
her  heart  sank  again  as  she  realized  that  that  knowl- 
edge must  only  add  to  her  suffering,  since  a  single 
step  forward  on  his  part  would  be  ruinous  for  them 
both.  Also,  she  had  now  to  go  where  she  might  see 
his  fa^e  no  more.  That  thought  seemed  intolerable 
here  in  the  darkness— a  darkness  which,  in  its  chill 
desolation,  typified  her  life. 

There  was  but  one  gleam  of  light,  and  this  was 
that  she  should  soon,  if  all  went  well,  see  her  father, 
hear  his  dear  woice  again,  and  resume  that  com- 
panionship which  she  had  missed.  That  at  least 
was  something  to  warm  and  cheer  her.  She  recalled 
his  description  of  the  place  in  which  he  had  made  his 
abode,  told  in  the  one  or  two  letters  he  had  ventured 
to  write.  That  description,  couched  in  his  half- 
whimsical  style,  did  not  sound  alluring.  But,  after 
all,  he  was  there,  and  his  presence  constituted  home. 
If  only  there  were  not  the  pain  of  parting  with  that 
other,  and  leaving  behind,  perhaps  forever,  all  the 


286    GERALD  d«  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 
dear  and  happy  associations  of  her  beloved  Man- 

nftttftn*  « «  J       If 

Her  thoughU  likewise  strayed  to  Madam  Van 
Cortlandt,  who  had  been  as  a  mother  to  her.  and  to 
her  dear,  warm-hearted  PoUy,  who  had  striven  to 
show  in  every  way  the  same  affection,  but  m  whose 
manner  and  bearing  of  late  there  had  been  a  certam 
constraint.  And  this  she  knew  to  have  been  engen- 
dered by  the  coming  between  them  of  an  ahen  and 
inimical  personaUty.  So  the  first  hour  or  two  wore 
away,  and  Evelyn  fell  into  a  deep  sleep,  froni  which 
she  woke  only  as  the  first  pale  Uglit  of  dawn  whitened 
the  landscape.  It  took  her  some  moments  to  reahze 
that  she  was  neither  in  the  luxurious  sleeping  apart- 
ment at  Madam  Van  Cortlandfs.  nor  yet  in  her  own 
room  at  the  cottage,  but  here  in  the  cwnp  of  the 
Wilden,  a  fugitive  and  under  the  ban  of  the  law.  it 
was  the  strangest  awakening  in  her  life,  and  it  re- 
mained long  fixed  in  her  memory. 


'^Ir 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

PLOTTINO  AKBW 

Whether  theS^^°th^„,r  "  *'^"'  *^P' 
thrmo°^L^'°r*  ^^  *°  P"'**"!  thither  himself  in 


H'I' 


'■.    '-    '  \: 


i- 


'"^,.     -i 


^    GERALD  »E  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

tion^thold  Monica,  but.  since  she  was  totally 

^"iver^E^SX  old^uaw.'^Monica.  whom  he 
taewTo  Xe  trusted  frieAd  of  Evelyn  gave  not 
^P^lilhtest  hint  of  hostiUty  towards  himself,  nor 

IruitlM  qoent  in  >  gn«K»  rage  Ihan  evw. 

Tt  occurred  to  him  several  times  that  t-aption 
F^eS^S  be  ih  some  way  R«po».ble  (or  the 

l^  c^£  members  of  the  Cou^f  J- ^\\tSTf 
of  matters  of  importance.  It  seemed  to  tne  nuna  "^ 
PrSr  Wimaml  which  he  fancied  was  so  astute, 


PLOTTING  ANEW 


289 


h'^n 


S*th«f\^f^^  ""?  ^  ^  complete  ignorance  of 
D     Vr*°  transpired  conceming  Evehm 

j^^^'L  P*^  ^^^  ^^  mernwhile  b^en  active 
in  taking  such  measures  as  were  possible  for  the 
young  girl's  escape  from  the  Colony,  and  WsSI 

h«l  Ti  ^ temporary  asylum.  There  she  would 
have  at  least  a  breathing  space,  until  it  might  be 
possible  to  make  other  and  better  arrangements 
^!,,^?'?^''^1*°/"^  ^^<^  Van  Cortlandt  X 
Zt^f.u""  t^^  ^y,  foUowing  Evelyn's  flight.  He 
«nKi,^^  ^°'^  ^il^^S^  ^^^^  g^^den  at  the  back 
^.^v^""^  P?f '.^'^  '^^y-  f"""  he  felt  sure  that 
the  dwelhng  would  be  carefully  watched.  On  that 
occasion  the  young  man  frankly  declared  that  it 
would  have  been  his  dearest  wish  to  marry  Evelvn 
to  Fn'S3"'^  his  position,  cross  the  seas  with  her 
ll^f  ^'  f'^  ''^"^'  t°  *e  Continent.  But, 
apart  from  the  fact  that  the  girl  herself  would  not 
for  an  instant  entertain  such  a  proposal,  he  was 

SiinfVJ^^'^'^  ^^  uponlier  a  still  m^^ 
mahgnant  hatred  on  the  part  of  Prosser  Williams, 
who,  through  his  it^uential  relatives,  was  powerful 

^  Jo,  M^^K^*^  ?"^  ^  *^^  ^°^°"y-  Such  a  hue  and 
cry  would  be  raised  as  would  make  their  safe  de- 
F^T*  extremely  problematical.  In  her  pique  at 
the  defection  of  the  household  staff,  even^Lady 
Uellomont,  who  at  present  seemed  weU  disposed  tow- 
ards the  girl,  might  act  in  a  fashion  directly  con- 
tr^  to  what  might  be  expected.  Nor  would  her 
partiahty  for  the  girl,  even  if  it  could  be  r^Ued  upo^ 
count  altogether  in  her  favor  with  the  GovS 
hmself  Smce  It  had  been  his  poUcy  to  frown  upon 
hl^lTT^'^  between  his  wife  and  the  Colonics, 
he  had  ah^ady,  as  Captain  Ferrers  weU  knew,  shown 


w 


ago     GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

a  marked  coldness  towards  the  girl,  because  my  Lady 

*"  MSSvS"Cortlandt  was  quite  of  his  c^on 
that  1^  if  Evelyn  had  been  willing  to  fors^e  her 
f  aS«  ^rthe^troublous  times,  and  if  the  other  ob- 
sS^iSd  be  removed,  a  marriage  at  that  par- 
tiS  luncture  would  probably  prove  disastrous 
fr^einoth.    It  was  far  better,  as  die  beheved 
£  aSthe  course  o."  events.    Changes  had  o^urred 
^ore  both  in  poUcy  and  administration,  and  changes 
S^ain  t^Toc^  again.    Her  suggestion  as  to 
^Tpresent  crisis,  which  Captain  Ferrers  accepted 
Sth^r^ain  reluctance.  Was  that  he  ^o^d  sedk 
mt  the  only  one  whom  in  her  opmion  it  would  be 
absolutely  ^e  to  trust,  namely,  Pieter  Sdiuylw. 
iKuld  answer  for  him  that  he  wou^d  be  qmte 
doable  of  putting  aside  his  own  personal  prejudices 
^^deSres  to  sJve  Evelyn  honestly  and  ^gle- 
i^dedlv.    She  was  certain  that  he  would  go  to 
S^leShs  to  save  the  giri  from  trouble,  much  less 
torn  S^.    Somewhat  pointedly,  and  as  Capteun 
Sre  remarked  to  himself  quite  needle^ly,  the 
oldkdy^^further  declared  that  Pieter  Schuyler 
ted^  devote  lly  attached  to  Evelyn  f^m  Itoy- 
tood  upwards,  and  had  entertamed  hopes  of  finally 
!d^^|  her  affection  in  return.    But  what  progress 
hSwe  in  that  laudable  enterprise,  with  which 
the  hea^could  so  fully  sympathize.  Madam  d^d 
not  state     The  hope  which  Ferrers  had  laid  up  m 
Ws  bo^m  sin^  wTlast  >terview  with  the  giri, 
^iTe^^  indefinite  as  it  had  been,  somehow  con- 
to^cted  the  presumption  that  the  Patjence^f  ^^ 
persistent  suitor  would  be  rewarded.    Still  the  veij 
luMestion  of  such  a  thing  had  occa^oned  lus  re- 
lucS  to  apply  for  any  help  from  that  quarter. 


PLOTTING  ANEW  29, 

Captain  Fm-ers  recognized,  however,  that  it  was 
nec(«sary  to  have  as  auxiUary  one  whi  knew  b^^ 

S^  ^ri,."?!  '^^  ^?^^'  ^''^  ^°"'d  P«^«-e  what 
ever  might  be  required,  and  select  the  subordinat^ 

i^  ^YV^fJ^''°I  P^"^  i'l  the  perilous  drama  which 
involved  the  safety  of  their  dearly  pS^fS 
Recent  events  had  made  men  cautious,  and  Twt 
only  such  a  motive  as  love  that  could  be  count^ 
upon  absolutely,  Mom^ver.  the  Captl's  o^ 
pe^onal  impression  of  the  young  Colonial  cZ 
?^,  i.^  recommendation  which  Madam  Van 
a)rtlandt's  sagacity  and  keen  discriminatfen  ren" 
dered  valuable.  Having  once  made  up  his  nJ^d 
Ferra^  acted  with  his  accustomed  promptitudS 

PeSSet^'  C^  "^  ''  !^'^  fat^her's'SSJriJ 
reari  btreet.  That  was  a  strange  meeting  The 
two  men  were  perfectly  well  awa?e  of  each  other's 
aims  and  hopes,  although,  in  Heter's  case,  Eveh^ 
had  never  encouraged  them.     Pieter  told  WnSS^ 

^^^'^^^T^.^^  '7^^^^^  th«  i'.uatior*at 
tJ^.^^  ^^^^y  T'^^  '*  Pl^  that  the  t  e  be- 
*!^  ^^^  V^  P"'"^'^  °"«  of  friendship  and  old 
assoaation.  But  her  efforts  to  impress  that  f^t 
upon  him,  and  the  absence  of  anything  hke  co^aet^ 

The  cordial  friendship  which  she  accorded  him  kept 
ahve  the  hope  that,  where  he  had  gained  TiS, 
from  a  girl  notoriously  chary  of  her  flvors,  h^  S 
with  time  and  patience  win  stiU  more,  or  she  mi^t 
?4J^hT^  to  marry  him  on  the  strength  of  that^S 
rf  cS;  p^*"'^  ^^  had  realized  that  the  com^ 
of  Captain  Ferrers  and  his  marked  preference  for 
Evelyn's  society  had  rendered  very  unl^ikelyThe  fS^ 
fihnent  of  such  a  hope.  He  feared  that  the  new- 
comer, whose  vinle  quaUties  were  coupled  with  a 


292     GERALD  DE  LAC^Y'S  DAUGHTER 

sinimlarlv  winning  personality,  had  captivat^J.^^^ 
S^UnoTaSlywonherhe^.    Nor  could  he 

Sd  from  hhnsefi  that^er  P^^^p^^,^^  J^" 
bestowed  Hence  it  was  mat,  though  Fieter  s  jeai 
Sr  Wed  fiercely  at  times  he  had  been  able  to 
control^  and  acknow!edged  that.it  ^^li^^H 
in  which  the  better  man  must  win.  P'^'^^'  "^ 
SoklSdiX  the  hand  which  Captain  Ferr«s  ex- 

Sde^nd  Lepted  i^J^^^'ZJ^.^Zwl^ 
the  paternal  dwelling  and  waUc  down  by  the  Water 
Gate,  as  if  on  their  way  to  the  Ff^^'  .  ,  ..  ^^, 
"What  I  have  to  say.  Mynheer  bchuyier.  ex 
Plained  Ferr^.  "can  belt  be  said,  I  think,  under  the 
o^  skv  And  1  opine  that  it  is  due  to  your  father 
She  othTmeXrs  of  the  family  that  it  be  not 

^HeTeJ'^ttnT^stinctively  that  Eveljm  must 
be^n^^Tfollowed  him  without  delay  Wjhout 
losing  an  instant.  Captain  Ferrers  talked  all  the  way, 
Sgbefore  his  companion  the  imminent  danger 
FnwWch  Evelyn  stood  of  imprisonment,  exile  and 
t^rhais  wo7^  He  informed  him  of  her  temporary 
^iSe  of  Se  withThe  Wilden,  and  the  necesaty 
F^'er  iSate  depart- 1«  fromMarfiattan^e 
npvcr  so  much  as  en  oined  secrecy  on  his  hearer, 
SorluSatedTo  his  love  or  loyalty.    He  srniply  put 

Z^^y  in  his  hands  liimself^^jS^^eTy 
his  future  prospects,  together  with  Evelyn  ss^ety. 
Rw^^e  action  of  one  chivalrous  nmn  towards 
LTter  l^d  Pieter  felt  the  appeal  and  responded 
to  h  ^  th  all  the  generosity  of  his  nat^.  Evd^ 
rn,U  he  saved,  even  if  she  were  saved  lor  tnis 
rSg^TaTd  by  his  own  help.  Ferrer  was  n^ng 
£^^  for  h^  than  he  himself  could  do,  though 
t^tmttired  nothing.    In  truth,  it  was  a  proof  of 


PLOTTING  ANEW  293 

fct'Si^r°^.  ^'k,°7  ^"^  **•«  «^rf  that  he  thought 
first  of  her,  trembled  at  the  danger  which  th^Ji 

=^^ '  ^'^'  "^^  *o  "^tum  separately   lest  tW 

tS^t^To^XS^r,j£^^^^^^^ 

Kd     sS,a" «  '^^^^'^  ?'°"2  the  Boston  C 


I 


,94     GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

Pieter-s.wholivedatsomediJ^^^mM^J^ 

i«ESf cap.  j^j^^ss.1  ssiS 

once  to  her  young  guest. 


■■>),>, 


CHAPTER  XIX 

FAREWELL  TO  MANHATTAN 

Twterf^H'fK°^-"^^^^''^'^  f^"e«  over  Man- 
1  hattan,  and  the  air  was  heavy  with  the  fraerance 

tW  ^^^"^  '"^'J  ^^  ^"d  dismay  the  chargis 
that  had  been  made  against  her  life-long  friend  ^id 
the  danger  in  which  she  stood.  The  p?4  Sfncei^d 
hLS^^l^"  f™.'^  ^^'^s  and  the  maliSt 
brood  whom  he  had  stirred  up  to  the  p^rSe 
of  evrangehcal  wrath,  was  to  lllow  the  fXe  to^ 
and,  while  waiting  and  watching,  to  have^™i«v 
s^t'""?W^'^,°^  '^?  hop^essnesJofT^S 

hT  an  .,«!  ^.  ^^  ^^*=^y'  ^^^  "o  doubt  concealed 
ZtZ  ZT^"^^  P'*^^'  *°  ^l^'^h,  through  some 
^e  4KSr  "^  ^^^  P-*  °f  '^-elf  of  other.! 
Happily  for  the  success  of  Ferrers'  plans  Prosser 
Wta  had  confided  to  the  officers  of  the  law  ^ 

miw'T"'*"'^  ^  ^^^  ^^<'^'  hiscon^c;ti^n 
amountmg  ahnost  to  certainty,  that  the  furtive 


;■!■ 

rim 

■  I 

i; 

'ii 

.1 

! 

!!■  L! 

,'• 

ii 

I'ir 

1  ■''' 

«    t 


,96    GERALD  DB  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

would  attempt  to  ^^J-J'^^^J^  J'£.tZ^i 
judging  from  the  P«v^ou8^imon^oi^  ^^ 

thatthe  girl  8  f  ^ther  had^  tLt  Evelyn  would 
Barbadoes^  s^^^?^  g^.^oX.  w«rc 
make  an  effort  to  rejom  ^  ^^  ghould  be 

given,  therefore,  that  the  stnct^t  wa       ^^^y 
g^t  on  the  Water  Gate  Mid  «^  ^   ^^  j^ 

SlaSed^^t  b«  ifS^Bot  *:£ 
SSIed^^^  r  L-^coSry'f^the  Bl^n^«- 
daleRodd.  .'^        ^gn  travelling, 

As  was  the  custom  t^  ja^e®  Jvet  riding-mask 
Evelyn  de  Lacey  wore  a  black  vewein^K 
overV  face,  which  conc^^  h«  id^ity^  ^^ 
the  casual  ob^er.  „^VP'!^Kd>mbo.  AU 
was  attended  by  her  f^^^^^^^i^ch  ^vou^ 
those  not  engaged  in  »"  .^^^^'^whraTOearance 
Wore  be  P«^V^.^*f^^5  SVSating 

°'-r  t^'fS'-she  wi^JSTSnd  her,  though 
pef  at  all  she  ^^  ^    S  rejoining  her 

^rt  1?tl^  Evdyn^de  at  an 'ordinary  pace, 
beloved  father,  ^^^'j"^'  ".  „  ,,_tii  thev  came  to 
S  as  not  to  attract  atterAwn.  ^^d^^y  ^ 

the  inn  *V^^.^°°l^e  trivS^^ten  stopped 
from  the  City  ^aU.  wh^^rave  ^  .^^^^^^^ 

to  take  a  glass  of  wme.  "^^^''^  J'i  _^i,  ,  bv-path 
to  drflect  from  the  n^  «ad  ^d^^  a  by^^^^ 
into  the  country,  B"t  it  was  ne^^i^  t  ^^ 

some  caution,  since  ^J^  .^J^Xhting,  while 
watched  from  *«  «?.^,^Siy  Ke  Idter  of 
the  two  X^rCfbS  ^S  the  premises,  and 
a  dump  of  tre...  jumoo  sui    j^^  ^^^ 


FAREWELL  TO  MANHATTAN       297 

Thus  encouraged,  Evelyn  rode  slowly  bv  her 
^es  resting  sadly  upon  that  famiUar  pface  which 
she  had  so  often  regarded  indiflferently.  It  seemed 
to  her  now  hke  the  last  link  between  her  and  chill 

fn^'S  .T^'f^  T  ^  ^^^&  fi'e  on  the  hearth 
and  cheerful  hghts,  beacons  as  it  were  in  the  dark- 

T!^"  vT  *r°  ^'^^  °^  ^^o^n  J««"bo  had  spoken. 
^t  r  w^  Identity  presently  became  known  like- 
wise to  Evelyn,  advanced  toward  the  door  convers- 

W,a!^,t  i^i.^'i  "^^^  ^*^°n-  With  a  leap- 
ing of  the  heart  and  an  emotion  that  brought  teara 

P™.^^'  ^'T^^l  t^  h^y  recognized  Captain 
frf^  ^^  Pieter  Schuyler.  The  two  continued 
to  ^scourse  jestingly  for  the  benefit  of  mine  host 
or  the  inn  servants,  but,  raising  their  glasses  of 

fw^  ^^1,*^^  expression  of  their  faces  all  that 
they  would  have  said  had  they  dared  to  speak  or 
appear  conscious  of  the  horsewoman's  identity  For 
a  single  instant,  reckless  as  the  act  might  be,  Evelyn 
renioved  her  n^k,  and  both  men  saw  the  expression 
of  that  lovely  face,  pale  but  full  of  resolve  and  with 

Z^  ^  devotion     Each  turned  to  the  other  and 

liZw  .*'^-'''?u^'  ^  *^«  fis«^  "P°n  the  horse, 
bghtty  touching  th^  animal  with  the  whip,  sped  out 
of  sigut,  Etnkmg  o5  from  the  Boston  Road  bto  a 
by-path  which  Jumbo  had  indicated. 
«Vk^"  ^T^yn'^soul  feU  a  weight  of  depression 
Tt^L'Z  ^f  «i  f*^""  her  view.  As  with  her  two 
attendants  she  plunged  into  the  surrounding  dark- 
^ss.  It  seemed  to  the  girl  as  if  her  heart  would  break, 
aut  she  strove  to  raise  her  spirits  and  reanimate 
Sh  hf  T.u^y  the  thought  of  the  joyful  meeting 
with  her  father,  and  the  hope  that  a  future  might 


iilU' 


,98    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

dawn  when  a  «t"rn  to  Manh^ryoTth  V^t  be 
'^%'^Furth^CtSatiJi  Anticipation  she 

5^?  not  ^r  WhaSr  might  be  thejentimcnt' 
EVwtrirby'Tatbne^^^^^^ 

fSl^-i1oC%rpJS  o^fhe'S^Uatorial  p«> 
*^f  ;f,ld  herself  that  henceforward  she  must  set 

f^FsS^He^e^^"^^^^^ 
which  was  aU  the  d^r^«r  ^  ^  ^^  ^^^ 

repression  she  practised.   Pf^  y^2:  those  who  were 


!:•        ..il'ii! 


FAREWELL  TO  MANHATTAN       299 

1!^'  ^T^u   ^^  h^  ^"  ^thout  a  safe  refuw 
and  had  chosen  Salem  because  he  had  teen  r^S?' 

nund,  and  the  conviction  grew  upon  her  that  tw 

S^a!;i?^""*r'*yJ"  """P'^^^  obscurity.  She  ^^d 
not  qmte  r^e  how  difficult  it  would  be  f or  siSh 
a  father  and  such  a  daughter  to  remain  unn^ti^ed 
^  Z^J  however,  fully  in  accord  with  hw  ad^^„" 
who  had  sent  her  a  detailed  letter  of  kistrartio^f  ?n 
believing  that  it  would  be  better  for  Wto^Shlr 
maid  back  to  New  York  once  she  had  Sfe°y^ached 
her  destination.  For  it  would  assu3^tt«rt 
attention  were  she  to  have  a  blacks^^t  fai  that 
new  habitation  where  her  own  identi^^^^L  to  ^^ 

e^uIfi^SSVatr^uSS'Snr^^ 
residence  where  they  were  to  b^  rSS  foTtJeS 

S^f  ^t^^^^  "^*^"<^«»  the  mosrSous  hJs: 
S^^r^.*"^"!  "°*  .*  ?•"«'«  questioHon^g 
ShiKl?  Tu  ~"^«ng  Evelyn  at  once  rfTJ 
2^  tl^;i,^.^^°*  ""PPf  ^^  '"  '^diness  for  them 
Sfof  wwi  Jlf^  ^""^^  ^°^t  immediately  the 
hti  i^^  they  were  so  much  in  need.  Scarcelv 
had  the  dawn  whitened  the  landscape  thaHhe^ 
were  up  and  away  again  on  that  joXey  which  h 

»"  pusMDie  speed.     After  vanous  pauses  for  ««:<■ 
was  to  take  the  stage  to  Salem,  a^d  where  JuSS. 


W I 


300    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

was  to  remain  until  he  could  dispose  of  two  of  the 
horses,  retaining  the  third  for  his  return  joumev  to 
Manhattan.  Evelyn  parted  with  real  regret  from 
the  faithful  lad,  who  was  associated  with  some  of 
her  happiest  hours.  It  was  the  breakii.g  of  another 
link  with  the  past.  She  pressed  into  his  hand  a 
piece  of  gold  with  her  cordial  thanks,  and  bade>im 
above  all  things  maintain  that  secrecy  which  was 
so  necessary.  Elsa  was  to  remain  in  Boston  for  a 
day  or  two  until  she  was  rested,  and  was  then  to 
return  to  her  native  city  by  the  stage-coach.  Evelyn 
knew  that  Elsa  would  be  very  loath  to  part  with  her, 
but  she  saw  the  necessity,  of  exciting  no  remark 
and  furnishing  no  clue  to  those  who  might  institute 
inquiries  or  even  follow  in  pursuit.  A  message  was 
sent  from  Boston  an  hour  or  two  in  advance  of  her 
arrival,  since  the  shock  might  be  too  severe  for  her 
father,  and  so  he  was  waiting  to  clasp  to  his  heart 
with  an  emotion  too  deep  for  words  that  idolized 
daughter  who  was  thenceforth  to  be  the  compamon 
of  his  exile. 


BOOK  III 


CHAPTER  I 
bvblyn's  nbw  homb 

a  gap  in  a  hilly  rfdee    wi'ti,  t;,i  /'^^^""'"^h 


L 

1 

p 

J 

p 


3Ctt     GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

joined  by  Evelyn  when  she  fled  from  persecution 
and  from  the  malice  of  her  enemies  in  New  York. 

Salem  itself  presented  certain  natural  beauties. 
Trees  of  many  sorts,  some  of  them  a  relic  of  primeval 
woods,  gave  their  luxuriant  shade  to  the  streets. 
The  rivers— North  and  South,  Forest  and  Bass- 
lent  a  beauty  of  their  own  to  the  scene.    In  secluded 
spots  upon  their  surface,  near  the  green  wooded 
shores,  white  and  sweet-smelling  water-liUes  floated 
upon  the  surface,  in  contrast  to  their  ugly  and 
rank-smelling  yellow  caricatures  which  also  gathered 
there.    Salem  could  boast  of  many  handsome  dwell- 
ings, mostly  with  lawns  or  'flower-beds  before  them, 
where  the  Endicotts,  Hutchisons,  Sewalls,  Porters, 
Putnams,  Leas,  Houltons  and  the  rest  had  had 
their  abodes  almost  since  the  beginning  of  that  old 
Bay  Colony,  which  was  second  only  to  Plymouth 
in  antiquity.    To  Evelyn  the  whole  atmosphere  was 
one  of  gloom,  and  in  striking  contrast  to  the  pleasant 
social  life  of  the  Dutch  colonial  town  she  had  lately 
quitted.     There  everybody  knew  everybody  else, 
and  the  yoimg  people  had  an  ahnost  uninterrupted 
round  of   wholesome  pleasures   and  amusements, 
which  in  no  wise  interfered  with  the  useful  domestic 
Uves  of  the  women  and  their  proficiency  in  house- 
hold arts.    Here,  amongst  these  sour,  sanctimonious 
folk,  she  was  afraid  to  display  that  natural  gaiety 
which  since  recent  events  alternated  in  her  with 
moods  of  ahnost  tragic  sadness.     For  true  to  the 
Celtic  character,  hers  was  a  dual  nature  of  mirth 
and  sadness,  all  too  readily  influenced  by  her  sur- 
roundings.   The  Puritan  gloom  oppressed  her,  and 
moreover  she  had  to  put  aside  her  pretty  gowns, 
her  elaborate  scarfs  and  silken  hoodt  in  which,  as 
she  owned  to  herself,  she  had  formerly  takn  an  al- 


EVELW'S  NEW  HOME  303 

most  inordinr  r.^r.itasure.    But  now  it  was  necessarv 

abouTs     Arl'f  *'"  '"'■''f^'^'y  °f  *he  women  W 
abouts.    Any  ,1-panure  from  the  prevailine  fash,-on 

able'^Z^r  ^°^<^.*^^?  ^^  frau|ht3oS^" 
awe  danger.    Cunously  enough,  however  ti,»  ct^ 
Phcity  ^d  but  enhance  her  chT^J  She  5«^" 
ing  of  the  melancholy  which  at  times  appea^L 
her  lovely  eyes  would  have  made  her  more S^ 

r^^.n"'^'':!?  ,'°  '^^^  °^«  ^hom  she  had  ef^: 
rirlT-Pi"^®^'''  ^  fascination,  and  whom  she  hid 
left  behmd  m  her  beloved  Manhattan  Herflther 
font  S"^  •^°"""'^  'J"^  '^Sh.  pointed  hS  Ld  the 
long,  skirted  coat,  and  the  two  often  laughedto  se^ 
S'/r  *"^  t'-^"/°™ed  into  Puritanf  Evelv^ 
nussed  her  garden,  for  not  a  flower  would  ^ow  iS 
the  stony  soil  surrounding  their  present  abodf  She 
sorely  missed  the  cottage,  with  its  views  of  the  Bav 
the  v'ln'ro^f  "t  ^7  ^'^  P'^^*  household  o^ 

deLesTof  fn  W^l  f "  ^^^^-  ■?:a™-hearted  Polly, 
aearest  of  all  her  girl  fnends;   she  missed  thp  Invai 

ness  of  Madam  Van  Cortlandt,  but  most  of  Kd 

oth5^whoP,fI/"^'f,""'■  ^^h'°°'  ^«  niissed'tS 
other  who  had  so  lately  come  into  her  life  and  had 
earned  before  him  aU  lesser  affections  Ahhough 
she  was  neither  demonstrative  nor  impieVs^n^e 

swept  he;  T  '"^t'  ^""^  °^  '^  '°^^'  wWch  had  t£f 
swept  her  from  her  moorings,  was  aU  the  stronger 

tw  l  ^he Jmew  it  seemed  utterly  improbable 
£LsthS^^"'  r^  ^^b^rt  Ferrers  X 
hff^f  H.^'^.'i^^'f  f^^^  ^°^  frotn  Ws  position 
m  the  Household  of  the  Governor  and  through  the 


ui  i=iii 


■■•m^'. 


i 


304     GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

iealous  vigilance  of  Captain  Passer  Williams,  who 
Sarfnce  take  measures  to  mnthemboh^^^^^^^ 
wa<t  ttip  oersonal  question  of  religion,  bhe  nerseu,  ds. 
r^rS^sHf  the  Catholic  faith,  was  yirtuaUy  pro- 
scrited  Sd  was  in  actual  dagger  of  «npnf°«^^^* 
or  even  severer  penalties  be<=ause  of  h^  ^^ 
^mnn<rst  the  savages.  But,  even  had  the  late  decree 
?Sed  a  dSetter,  she  would  never  have  wav- 
'^Tn  h^  resolution  to  .n^rry  none  otner  rtiana 
ratholic  To  her  mind,  indeed,  the  very^^^";^ 
Sthe  persecution  made  it  essential  that  husband  and 
^eshouW  be  united  in  doctrine  and  in  Practice 

Afirl^a  that  drearv  time,  when  scarcely  a  word 
of^^freached  to  from  Manhattan,  the  father 
SidTaughter  found  in  each  other's  compam^ship 
?hdr  sollce  for  the  surrounding  gloom,  and  the  tie 
V«^^n  them  became  more  close  and  tender  than 
^e7  Mr  dTbacey  had  the  additional  consolation 
of  a  few  books  which  he  had  been  able  to  bnng  with 
Wm  and  of  some  others  which  he  had  found  on  the 
S^kTelves  of  his  present  residence.    Evelyn,  on 

The  latter  had,  however,  a  certain  taste  for  cootong 
^d  for  housework,  which  Evelyn  set  herseU  to 
?^aSd  develop.  She  taught  her  to  make  some  of 
KLTelSle  'dish^  which  ^e  her^U  had  learng 
in  the  Van  Cortlandt  household.  Evelyn  s  pron 
den^  in^  household  activities,  and  particvJarly 
Sio  Jwhich  pertained  to  the  culinary  departmen  , 
Ion  the  resp^ect  and  admiration,  not  onty  of  «i.s 
Abigail  herself,  but  also  of  the  neighbors  They 
werl  astonished  that  so  young  a  girl  should  be  a 


EVELYN'S  NEW  HOME 


305 

a  religion.    On  thTotW  hinH  fS^°"'  ^^^  ^'"°«t 
the  isolation  tawW^htiT'  ^^^  ^5"*«^  ^^eeply 

raged  them  ^  S  Sra^t'T"^".-^'  ^V  ^«- 
the  minds  of  maj.  giveX^^^*'""'  ^^''^  '» 

beautyfTt  annoyed  thirto''ffF^'^"«.^^^^  °f  her 

and  oth^nSSffom  plants      ""^  ^"'''  ""^^""^J 

by?helLSSs't^  '^rE^e^  [^ '  ^^-«<^ 
conceivably  dreanT  As  she  tol  Jt,^  /^i'  ^^"^^^  ^- 
reminded  he7  of  it,,^  t     *°''^  'j^  ^^*'i«f'  »*  always 

incommunicable  tiwc  "  „,?  •        '     , "  "^'^     the 


'  i 


* "  1# 


\  !;■<;-. 


306     GERALD  DE  LACEVS  DAUGHTER 

and  she  knew  that  ihey jrere  populaxly  a^ted 

"i?^  .,  liTS  ofThe  witchcraft  oicitment. 
SSteS=^-riS<iSutoted.    mqr  told  how  me. 

thSfabkl  and  reb^ed  Joy  and  the  young  girls 

i^C'tsnM23rtr.«» 

tranquil  streams  or  to  the  bitsy  wau^   wi^ 
seemed  to  breathe  more  freely.    There  atieasi  sne 

and  the  creduUty  of  their  neighbors. 


CHAPTER  II 


A  WELCOME  VISITOR 

ONE  evening  the   twiUght  was   casting  weird 
.       shadows  over  the  quaint  viUage  ^hL  Zi 

SS    ^T^^  ^"asylum  from  the  storms  of 
PMsecution    no  less  than  from  the  ocean  waves 

det^'ned  J'r.'f "  ^""'^^  ^^^  ^een  maiS^^a 
detenmned  effort  to  seem  cheerful,  but,  when  he 
had  retumea  to  his  books  after  thdr  e^ly  suler 
a^IjS  ^T^  °"*  f"^  a  solitary  walk,  welrinTher 
sad-c61ored  ;nantle  and  hooHver  the  ?ey  |o^ 

Por?^5  *?^  ""^""s  ^«^t"'«s  of  Manhattan:   thf 

fhe  53' H«i!  1^'  ^  V"'"*  ^"*  ^"-^^  sounded! 
tne  :5tott  Huys  looking  out  over  the  river,  grim  and 

S  of^L^r^^.^"*^  East  Rivers,  with  the  broad 
tWhn^L  ?^  "^^^^^  mingling  with  the  Bay  as 
they  hastened  downward  to  .ne  ocean.     She  loLed 

lamuar  streets.  Her  mind  was  in  a  tumult  of  old 
S"1±r  ^dj-g^ts,  through  which.  ?L  a 
A«  «t  nn.  '  fr  ^^^  *''°"S*"'t  °f  Captain  Ferrers. 
hTA^  °°<=^as  though  the  intensity  of  her  thiS^s 

near  her  in  the  garb  of  a  Puritaji.  with  long  coat 


■r 


!  :* 


111    f 


«      I 


«  i';»: 


W.     i 


I;  [ 
I.  ( 


L 

ii 

L 

308     GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

and  high  pointed  hat.  The  man  was  regarding  her 
LtenT^d,  though  she  was.st^led  for  an  mstant. 
the  heart  cannot  long  be  deceived.  •  „  i.i,„ 

••Srtr  she  cried,  in  her  excitement  using  the 
Christian  name  as  she  had  never  done  before^    She 
could  scarcely  hear  when  he  spoke,  such  was  the 
tremorlTws  voice,  and  the  passionate  tenderness 
vritt^  wWch  he  addrWed  her.    In  her  simple  dress. 
Skh  Shtened  her  charm  and  accentuated  her 
Sction.  Evelyn  seemed  to  Ferrers  far  mare.capti- 
v£g  tKorXly  in  her  finery  of  siUc  and  jewds 
He  could  only  pour  out  broken  words  ?f  Jove  and 
of  iov  at  seeing  her  again,   llis  words  left  her  thnll- 
4'SS^s  and  a  fervor  of  devotion  of  which 
SilTould  not  have  believed  herseit  capable.    Her 
Siot^  transfigured  her  face.    It  was  as  though  an 
exquisite  statue  had  come  to  hfe,  a  life  ^^idi  that 
Sstant  Ferrers  knew  was  given  to  hun  without 

P°^Mf^e^Ta?been  aching  for  a  sight  of  V." 
CaDtain  Ferrers  cried,  when  his  first  emotion  had 
foSat  Sded.  "I  could  bear  the  pam  "o 
longer.    I  felt  that,  even  at  the  cost  of  my  hfe,  1 

"'"U'^newlife  to  me,"  Evelyn  responded  simply. 
"And,  although  it  is  unspeakably  ra^  for  you  to 
have  come  hither,  perchance  it  is  better  to  die  of 
sheer  happiness  than  to  perish  of  i^amtion. 

She  had  spoken  such  words  as  ^hejiever  meant  to 
soeak  They  were  wrung  from  her  heart  by  the  un- 
Sed  sight  of  him  there  before  her.  whom  she 
had  beUeved  to  be  long  leagues  away. 

"Then  you  will  be  my  wife."  cned  Egbert  Ferrers 
and  with  a  joyful  movement  he  drew  near  to  her 
to  take  her  in  his  arms. 


A  WELCOME  VISITOR 


"I*c^n!S*i"?^1*  *?^  ^'^  remembered. 

that  I  love  you  more  H^«;  T  ^  "  ""^'^^  *«  ^^Y 
our  love  is  Wfe^  twL?",^^?  ^''P^^"  B«t 
too  great."    ^'^^'   ^^^  obstacles  between  us  are 

is  yJ^^Tto  ZTf  ^T^  ^'^^^  °''^tacles  which  it 
mSSL'^fX'^arrxS  On^Lo'dBeUo- 
England  or  be  S«^  bv^^w  ^^  "^^  "^^^^  *« 
With  him  will  g^roi  Vnf^^°'"^^°,r^™'"^"t■ 
against  you  wif faU  to^hf^Td  'f sS  h^'P^ 

r.rifLTrrveiE"^'^^^^^^ 

some  place  of  abode'  Sre  tm  ^^iT?''  ^^  "^"^ 
Evelyn  only  shook  her  head  mouSv 

remain  between  nc  tiL       sure  .'—there  would  still 

kind  of  dL^''^r^'\^'^^^^.  with  a 

happiness?    For  S?vo„  .^f  . w"^^"  "'  ^^  "^ 

of  your  faith!^aLd"LfC?Vni^^Xf  .r 
to  any  other."  =" ^ '^  nearer  to  that  than 

as  hriS"^'^.''t'^  *"»«»'"*  of  has  whioh 

There  was  a  strange  solemnity  in  her  words-the 


»i: 


:      ft,' 


>   ,lfi 


I   i  ! 


i   il 


.MMtea  I 


3IO     GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

solemnity  that  exists  only  in  moments  of  pasaonate 
emotion.  The  young  man.  whose  l^owledge  of 
Evelyn  had  hitherto  been  confined  chiefly  to  tne 
Urfiter  and  gayer  side  of  her  character  was  deeply 
impressed  by  her  grave  seriousness,  and  dommated 
as  bv  a  new  and  inexplicable  influence. 

"I  swear."  he  cried,  "that  I  wiU  take  the  means  to 
acquaint  myself  with  all  that  concerns  the  Catholic 
faith,  so  that  at  the  fitting  moment  I  may  ent^ 
that  ancient  Church.  For  the  very  ferocity  a«d 
intolerance  of  our  Protestant  champions  have  for- 
ever turned  my  mind  from  t*ie  religion  they  profess. 

"Then."  said  Evelyn,  holding  out  her  hands  to 
him  with  an  exquisite  gesture  of  surrender,    if  that 

be  so,  I  am  yours  from  this  '"^'^f  *  tul!"  p™ 
With  an  impetuous  movement  Egbert  l-wrers 
gathered  her  into  his  arms  for  one  instant  of  ]oy 
Siiutterable  and  a  kiss  of  betrothal  that  each  one 
felt  to  be  as  sacred  as  a  consecration.  Then,  quietly 
releasing  herself,  Evelyn  said: 

"For  the  present  we  can  only  wait,  lo  me  at 
least  the  years  will  seem  as—" 

She  stopped  abruptly,  for  a  man  and  woman 
were  coming  along  that  forest  road  where  people 
passed  so  ieldom.  With  wonderful  presence  of 
inind,  Evelyn  made  a  prim,  little  curtsey  to  her  com- 
panion, which  he  found  inexpressibly  charmmg,  as 

^"fbid  you  good-evening,  sir,  and  should  your 
business  bring  you  hither  again  from  the  town  of 
Lynn,  I  trust  that  you  will  visit  my  father  at  the 
wooden  house  near  the  Boston  turnpike  road,  at  the 
first  turning  beyond  the  hill." 

Having  thus  adroitly  given  him  her  address,  she 
left  him  and  saluted  in  passing  the  two  who  had 


A  WELCOME  VISITOR 


E^^'i^lir,^  ^^shtT'^  '*°^^"-  other  tha" 
Goody  WmS'-iel^^^ot  the  town/S 

Soth  looked  mquisitivpK;  f  *,.  ^^  servant,  Toy 
with  whom  she  n  ESn  o°n  ^"  *-°  '^^  ''^^^S^ 
njan  Cooke  did  not  S'  „°  f^i'°"'  *°<^  Good- 
that  the  beautiful  4iS  as Te  J"'''^"^"'^  '*^"'*"*=^ 
masculine  visitor  who  h^fed  frnf  f '^  ^^«'y".  had  a 
setts.  As  Evelyn  wXd  W?^  ^y""-'  ^assachu- 
rapid  step,  a  new  hnZ.^f^^""^^  ^th  her  finn 

transfigured'thaTlSsca"e  '^^h1"11^'  '^^^  ^S.' 
ymistic  gloom  of  a  town^<^rWH^K*^"f^  ^^^  Cal^ 
innocent  people.  darkened  by  the  blood  of 

.   When  an  hour  la<-<»r  o.^*  •    t, 

and  have  made  me  mLt"^"^  ^"  ^^at  disuse 
ever...  ''^  "^^  more  hopelessly  yo.u-  slave  tha^ 

"And    vof  "    „„:j    »,      . 


jn  that  I'saw^oTfiXdTh"  %'°^--    "I*  was 
'n  my  heart  ever  sSi^e  "^  ^  ''^^^  ^^t  the  picture 

^^mXfe  cSttTsf  touche'"  ^?'if  *  ^^^^t  evening 
•^ist,  and  love  an-?  r°^^^^  which  she  could  not 
touches  whiciTo  pSers^PPr^'  "^^  added  otSer 
all.  That  was  ^^^LnXl'^T^^''^'^^^^-  than 
and  which  ever  afTe™=^l^^  4°  ''^  remembered 
to  Mr.  de  Lacw  if  ^ST    ^  ^'°."^«<^  Salem.    Even 
congenial  co^o^lf "  once'  '"  *^«  '^f  ^^  to  hive 
*ort  time,  mdto£^thT.^°^^-  ^  ""^y  fo'  a 
votion  to  Evelyn  had  n?l^^  ^"^""^  '^'s  de- 
y    naa  not  m  the  shghtest  degree 


JUL 


3,2     GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

wavered.  Captain  Ferrers  gladdened  his  heart  by 
Sn^m  bf  the  decision  which  he  had  reached  of 
rSg  eveS  effort  to  study  CathoUc  doctnne  and 
!^^f  himself  received,  as  soon  as  that  were  possible, 
i^to  the  oSohc  Sh.    And  such  a  resolve  w^ 

Saw^o^hing  S^aratipn,  which  they  feUtmgh 
be  for  Ion",  since  the  risk  involved  by  the  visits  M 
Caotlir  Fer-ers  would  preclude  any  speedy  repeti- 
HonTlus  daring  attempt  to  see  Evelyn  and  her 
Xr  He  pS  upon^^Evelyn's  finger  a  nng  of 
S^thal  of  Ut  value  and  andent  worknwishiP 
which  had  belonged  to  his  mother.  This  was  tne 
™^u^d  sien  and  symbol  of  that  union  of  hearts 
wwlh  ea*  fe^wo^d  be  for  ever,  despite  «7^J 
Acuity  and  obstacle  that  the  future  might  hold 
bS  ttiev  could  not  have  foreseen  the  new  trials  which 
w^  to  sS  for  Evelyn  before  their  ne:.t  meetmg. 


CHAPTER  III 

FATHER  HARVEY 

andSfi!^  ^"*^^  «^«y-  by  an  that's  wonderful 


''!■ 


314  GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 
much  for  her  father.  Fot  here  was  his  beloved 
friend  of  the  old  Dongan  days  at  ^^e  Fort  in  Nw 
York,  his  confessor  and  guide,  who  had  suddwily 
appeared  where  they  had  not  seen  a  Catholicpneat 
siVSTtheir  arrival.  He  had  heard  of  their  p««ence 
there  from  the  friend  in  Maryland  who  had  given 
Mr  de  Lacey  the  house. 

Father  Harvey  glanced  about  him  '"^h  some  aia- 
iety  at  the  mention  of  his  name  aloud.  But  Mr.  de 
Lacey.  rightly  interpreting  the  glance,  said: 

'^^  in  this  house  after  mghtfall.  when  our 
handmaiden  retires,  there  are  but  our  two  selves,  my 
daughter  and  I.  Come  hither  Evelyn,  that  I  n^y 
make  you  acquainted  with  the  best  fnend  it  has  been 
riven  a  man  to  have."  ,.•,»•  ^       tr^.^Ur^ 

"After  which,"  added  the  priest.  "Mistress  Evelyn 
wiU  look  for  what  is  not  to  be  found  m  a  weary  and 
I^verwom  old  priest,  and."  he  continual  more 
Bravely,  "one  whose  presence  here  may  add  to  the 
Serilswhich.as  I  underrtand.already  encompwsyou.^^ 
"The  additional  peril  's  too  slight  for  mention, 
said  Mr.  de  Lacey  gaily.  "You  are  safer  withus 
than  you  could  be  elsewhere  hereabouts,  borne 
caution  will  be  necessary  on  the  morrow,  when  our 
Abigail  comes  to  do  her  work.  But  no  one  else  is 
likely  to  enter  our  dwelling,  and  you  can  contrive 
to  keep  out  of  her  sight  altogether,  or  to  assume 
what  character  you  will."  „ 

"The  first  alternative  may  perchance  be  sater, 
answered  Father  Harvey,  "though,  as  a  hawker.  I 
have  travelled  hither  without  adventure.  I  am  on 
my  way  to  minister  to  the  tribes.  One  of  these  bags, 
which,  owing  to  their  weight,  are  a  sore  burden  to  the 
flesh,  cont^L  my  altar-stone^  vestments  ho^y  JJ^ter 
for  baptisms  and  the  rest.    The  other  is  full  of  kmck- 


Kn;:;: 


FATHER  HARVEY  3,5 

PfU  to  m/l„dian  convms  "    *"**  ^  be  "sed  for 

over-successful  ^nce  tv^  „^^  ''*^°  "'^en  somewhat 

have  purchased  my  w^«°^X'%^°"«  '^'  ^*y 
I  dared  not  refuse^  to^^nH*"**  \  "^""^d  or  no 
the  poorer."  **"'  ^"*^  «*  ""V  Indians  wiU  be 

for  a  few  days  and  Wn  aw.v  f ^^v*"^  <=°"J*1  "-est 
AbigaU.    Both  f7f w    ^^j^^^  ^"""  the  eyes  of  the 

of  tKttitwh^S'lL'oth'lS';"  ^^'''°"«''*  '''«- 

and  where  there  wa^lteady  rflttTel^H"T°^°?^' 
proportions.    Thp  hiMJ^T,    1        ^"^'e-bed  of  goodly 
flewjo  theldSL'^J^5;PL^-/^!«d  u^^ 
glad  heart  dictated  fnt  ♦[■        .®"*^"  ^  nieal  as  her 

make  s^h  Se  l^i^i'^^enTsC^^^^*'  f^^  *° 
were  necessary  Iea3^?h!  »  ""^  '"^  comfort  as 
converse  to^er     ^^    ^^  ^''^  ""^  ^  pleasant 

tw^^J^ks^S^lf  f^2?  V«  ^f  ^?  ^-  -bout 
early  mornings  for  a  dav'smwT  *°  ^'""^  '"  ^he 
tribes,  before  Joy  had^co^T'f '"l"  *°  ^^^  nearest 

and  returning  at^evSin^^tlrMf  '1^.'^^"^  ^°'k. 
said  Mass  more  tl«n  ?.n£  7  u  -^^f  •  ^ad  gone.  He 
portable  BlZ  Stthel^JtJ^"^  ^°t''  °"  ^ 
enabled  torecrive  to  their  !».  ^^  daughter  were 
of  Penance  and  ihe  fchS  ^l',fbe  Sacraments 
visitor's  presence  was  utJm^wn  ,    L^^^  *'"«  the 

ttti^artic^rd?  ^-^°^- 1^^^ 

-  e^^e^ToT^Th^J-Sy  I'a^^^^^^^^^ 
One  afternoon,  however,  a.  the  Sly  d^iL'^f  ^ 


II M, 


11 


316    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

the  autumn  day  was  falling,  Joy  suddenly  bethought 
herself  of  some  herbs  which  she  had  put  to  dry  m 
the  attic,  and,  as  ill-luck  would  have  it,  FT,ther 
Harvey,  having  grown  a  trifle  careless  through  fa- 
miliarity, had  omitted  to  lock  the  door.   Up  went  the 
maid,  who  was  intent  on  making  a  pot  of  savory 
soup,  to  get  the  necessary  herbs.    And  so  swift  was 
her  ascent  that  by  the  time  the  priest  realized  that 
some  one  was  coming,  it  was  too  late  for  any  attempt 
at  concealment.    At  first  he  had  a  vague  hope  that 
it  might  be  Evelyn  who  had  come  up  with  a  message 
from  her  father.    When  he  saw  instead  the  sturdy, 
thick-set  girl,  with  her  clumsy  shoes  and  workmg- 
girl's  attire,  he  could  scai'cely  help  smiling,  though 
he  knew  that  his  discovery  might  have  serious  con- 
sequences for  himself.    He  trusted  at  first  to  the 
growing  darkness  that  he  might  not  be  espied,  and 
so  sat  perfectly  still  at  the  table  where  he  had  been 
writing.   The  Abigail  came  on  gaily,  singing  a  verse  of 
a  hymn  with  a  peculiarly  nasal  sound,  which  was 
the  nearest  approach  to  worldly  dissipation  per- 
mitted her.    Then  all  at  once,  as  she  was  reaclung 
for  the  herbs,  she  became  aware  of  the  motionless 
figure  and  the  face  which  looked  white  in  the  gather- 
,ing  gloom.   The  words  of  the  hymn  ended  in  a  hoarse 
croak  in  her  throat,  and  she  began  to  quake  with  a 
dread  that  for  a  moment  or  two  found  expression 
in  inarticulate  sounds.     Father  Harvey,   though 
pitying  her  terror,  thought  it  best  to  preserve  ^ 
absolute  immobility,  lest  any  movement  might  stiU 
further  betray  him.    So  he  sat  motionless,  though 
the  shaking  hand  of  the  girl,  which  akeady  had 
grasped  the  bunch  of  herbs  from  a  line  above  his 
head,  sent  down  upon  him  a  shower  of  the  thyme 
which  had  been  intended  for  the  soup. 


FATHER  HARVEY  j,^ 

the  pSt'S'^i^-S  P«P-ed  for  the  pan."  said 

seemed  to  incase  the^l^t^^"*  and  motionless. 

^^^The  Lord  bemy  helper  andmy  stay!"  shecmaked 

^^^^ybr^^\if^^»  -nd  that 
ff^I  as  if  chained  to Ihe  fl^'^"  ''*"*  ^^^  held  the 

asJ^Sly'?P-«t;^^^^^^ 

back  over  her  shoulder  at  til  h    ^^^.^^'^-  looking 

"From  the  power  ofTheE^f^"^?g  apparition^ 

the  miminent  risk  of  UfeTd  if^K  *"??\^  *^°^  at 
Evelyn's  room,  tremWkifin  ^''-  ?^^  ''"'^t  into 
teeth  chattering  aSy«  "  ^^«y  limb  and  her 

0„J..sawSatanhimself."  she  cried.  "I  saw  the  Evil 

to  laugh  or  tobraSS  tfZ  r'^""  ^th" 
had^ddenly  gone  dSted  *'  ^"^  ^^*  "^^  8^1 
quiS"'^'  ^^^  '^  J»«.  ^d  wkat  is  he  like?"  she  in- 

and^JL  ■^'dSlfjoT'  "°'^'  °"*  °^  '^^  -°"th 
rathlfto  gaiS?t^han?  """^'"'y-  ^^"ired  again 


lltJIf  4 


i  m 


\^ 


m 


318     GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

quavering  than  before,  as  though  that  were  the  most 
terrible  thing  that  he  could  have  said.  "He  said 
'Amen.'"  ,.    ,     .,„ 

"Be  still  now,  Joy,"  said  Evelyn  soothmgly.  You 
have  affrighted  yourself  about  nothing." 

"He  was  all  in  black,"  went  on  the  girl,  unheeding 
the  admonition.  "And  he  moved  not  so  much  as  a 
finger  to  brush  away  the  herbs." 

"Herbs?  What  herbs?"  asked  Evelyn,  impatient 
because  of  her  dread  of  the  girl's  supposed  insanity. 

"The  herbs  of  grace— no,  rather  I  mean  the  herbs 
and  thyme  for  the  potage." 

A  light  suddenly  broke  upon  Evelyn. 

"Where  were  those  herbs?"  she  demanded. 

"They  were  in  the  attic,  and  I,  having  the  work 
to  do  that  the  Lord  commanded,  went  thither 
to  procure  some  for  the  soup,  when  —  O  great 
Jehovah!" 

The  girl  pronounced  the  sacred  name  without 
the  least  suspicion  of  irreverence,  and  Evelyn  per- 
ceived that,  by  some  deplorable  mischance,  she  had 
indeed  made  her  way  to  the  attic. 

"Now  listen  to  me,  Joy,"  said  Evelyn  sternly, 
"I  forbid  you  henceforth  on  any  pretext  to  go  into 
the  attic." 

"And  I  will  obey,"  chimed  in  the  girl  instantly. 
"The  Lord  knoweth  that  I  will  go  no  more  into 
strange  places,  nor  wander  in  pastures — " 

"Do  not  mind  about  the  pastures,"  interrupted 
Evelyn,  "but  attend  to  my  words  and  go  no  more 
into  the  attic,  where,  it  being  dark,  you  have  need- 
lessly affrighted  yourself  by  a  shadow." 

"It  said  'Amen,'"  declared  the  girl,  in  the  same 
sepulchral  voice,  as  though  she  were  chanting  in  8 
choir. 


FATHER  HARVEY  3,^ 

sisS^iJ&'SSg?  S°  a  J"t  Evelyn  per- 
from  the  chimney  plac;  iZJ^^t^V  ^^  ^^^^^t 
eyes  starting  f^^^^th^'  ArbS  ^IT  V'^  ^^' 
pleasant  excitement  now^t  ih.  1,  V  ^"'S^  «* 
from  peril.    She  b^t^Za  ■  ^^^^  ^^  free 

needless  to  say  none  rami  ^TS  '^stress.     But, 

foberly.  repro^gThe  ri^%X^7'-r  ^"^"^^"^ 
handed  her  a  bunch  of  Whc  ^  excitement.  She 
complete  her  intem^pteS  worl/"'^  "^"l^^""  ^^^  to 
also  declared  tharhVnlfort^  T"  ^''^.^"P-  She 
attic  locked.  'lencetorth  she  -vould  keep  the 

^orlheTr^r  ^''  ^^y-  """ttering: 
said -Xnen.'^     '"'""^  ^^'  ^  '^"^  ^'^-'  and  he 

get^rofTr^t"^:?deS'hS'^.^^^'^  ^^ 
occasioned,  or  bi^  her  back  t-  *?™""  ^'^"^ 

•nind-  For,  as  r^nv  of  K  ,*,°  *  "^"^l  frame  of 
already  sho^^,  Joy  ^s^^^"  fellow.t^^  had 

visible  manifestation^^  rt.i'  ^  prepared  for  any 
Father  Harvey  was  of  Lj^  ^""^  °f  darkness^ 
the  possible  iU  rSts  to^*^!^;.?!^  'y  concerned  at 
caUed  his  own  Slness  fnlfi^^"'?  °^  ^^a*  he 
the  attic  door.  But  Wh  h^.^?"^.°^"«^  t°  l°ck 
to  reassure  Urn  mL  w  ^l^°tf  *  ^^  ^^^'3^  strove 

wholly  dispS  KSrf"if  Je'tL^''^^  ^^ 
vision  from  the  other  l^rJwj^®  had  seen  as  a 
thought  of  ^y  o£  rx£;.1?''  "T^  «»  ™"<*  as 
experience.  iUso  it  Ld  /^^**°°  °i  I^^""  terrifying 
■^so,  It  had  the  good  effect  of  enabling 


t  ■  J 


320    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

her  young  mistress  to  forbid  her  further  access  to  the 
attic.  .     ,  „     .,  ^, 

"Even  if  the  prohibition  were  required,  said  the 
priest,  with  a  humorous  twinkle  in  his  eyes,  as  he 
recalled  the  expression  of  the  girl's  face  when  she 
had  first  caught  sight  of  him.  "Still,"  he  added,  "so 
singular  a  thing  withal  is  human  nature  tha,t  there 
might  be  a  fascination  strong  enough  to  bring  her 
back  thitheiv-not  for  herbs  this  time,  but  for  in- 
formation. She  might  desire  another  peep  at  that 
awesome  object  which  so  rivetted  her  gaze." 

"Had  you  not  said  'Amen,'  Father,"  laughed 
Gerald  de  Lacey,  "she  might  have  been  tempted  to 
return.  But  that  utterance  brought  her  terror  to  a 
climax."  .  .^.   ^. 

"I  could  not  resist  it,"  said  the  pnest,  with  the 
touch  of  school-boy  droUery  that  crept  out  from 
under  his  gravity.  ' '  It  was  for  all  the  world  as  though 
she  were  repeating  the  psalms  at  the  Tenebra," 
He  presently  added  penitently:  _ 

"Though,  after  I  had  followed  that  foolish  im- 
pulse, I  feared  much  that  such  a  bit  of  folly  might 
have  evil  consequences.  For  there  is  an  irresistible 
conviction  about  the  sovmd  of  the  human  voice,  and 
spirits  are  not  wont  to  talk,  even  the  femin^ie  ones. 
Eh,  Mistress  Evelyn?" 

But  Evelyn  would  not  accept  the  challenge,  to 
which  she  responded  only  by  a  shake  of  the  head. 

"Is  it  not  strange,"  the  priest  continued,  "how, 
even  in  moments  of  grave  stress  or  peril,  there  is 
often  an  inclination  to  discover  the  ridiculous? 
Though  I  was  sorry  for  her  plight,  too,  I  laughed  so 
merrily  after  the  departure  of  that  poor  girl  that  I 
was  compeUed  to  hold  my  sides.  Only  I  would  .am 
hope  that  her  discovery  of  me  may  not  compromise 


FATHER  HARVEY  ^„ 

Having  assSmlS  th.^^^^^^T'^  '"^'^nient." 
any  special  da^S  SZ  W,  «H  ^'\  °°*.  ^PP'^hend 
since  ^believld  t Wni^^V  ^Y^^.t"^  in  the  attic, 

Fath^r^dl  mSeSJI^  <S"'?'-'>e  «°<^^. 
gift,wWchIsowEn.^^°^  ^^''^  retained  that 
of  trials  and  Stu^"??^'  "^"""^  ^  ^°^  V^ 

onev  sense oTh,^orasthftI^^^t''rf  '°.  ^^'^''^^n 
that  broad  outCffio-  u,  Zw .°-  ^^™-  *^-  ^'*'^ 
Jcg^^dhow„^h^S-4,^/3lS7£f°;^^^^ 

teij's;/ fsp^ciSKf  £rd  B  jjr "^.  ^°i°"-'  --*- 

which  he  had  3  Bellomont  and  the  laws 

people  of  that  cCLTry  iSr^il^r^  ^""*^  ^'«^ 
been  to  destroy  the  Surch  ^ot  f'  "^  '^^  ^^^^^ 
Ord??1h'^eJ^M^^ -tU'^hard  "Pon  your 

P^/hro2l£S- P=^^  "-^ 
awful  pra^  •    ^^  ^^ely°'    it  seems  an 


Jl 


W'W  '' 


■:l  :H,.n 


322     GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

Jesuits  might  become  the  terrible  fellows  our  en- 
emies represent  i^  to  be."  

Evelyn  could  not  help  regarding  the  speaker  with 
awe.  That  fine,  strong  face,  alight  with  humor, 
would  have  borne,  she  knew,  the  same  cahn  and 
cheerful  aspect  at  the  stake  or  on  the  gallows.  The 
talk  between  him  and  his  host  then  turned  remi- 
niscently  upon  the  times  of  Governor  Dongan. 

"Some  complaints,  I  know,"  said  the  pnest, 
"have  been  made  against  him  by  the  French  a 
Canada  for  his  anxiety  to  keep  the  Indians  apart 
from  them  and  so  hinder  their  evangehzation.  But 
it  is  most  certain,  too,  that  he  had  a  strong  desire 
to  promote  missionary  wofk,  and  sought  h,nglisn- 
speaJdng  Fathers  for  that  purpose.  I  have  read  a 
letter  of  his  to  the  Viceroy,  Denonville,  wherem  he 
declares  that  the  King—"  ^^    „„•      t     ^ 

Here  Father  Harvey  paused  to  add :  Kmg  James, 
God  bless  him!"  to  which  Mr.  de  Lacey  and  Evelyn 
answered  a  fervent  "Amen."  ,.1 

"He  declared  that  the  Kmg  had  as  much  zeal 
as  any  prince  living  to  prripagate  the  Christian 
faith,  and  that  he  had  asked  him  to  send  some 
Fathers  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  natives. 

"If  only  that  good  Governor  had  stayed  with 
us!"  cried  Evelyn  impetuously. 

"Yes,"  the  priest  assented,  "the  designs  of  God 
are  mysterious,  but  I  opine  that  it  is  His  will  to 
found  His  infant  Church  here,  hke  St.  Ignatius 
founded  our  Order,  on  the  safe  basis  of  persecution. 
Dongan  also  relates  in  that  same  letter  how  careful 
he  had  been  to  preserve  the  French  nussionanes 
from  harm,  ordering  his  Indians  not  to  exercise  any 
cruelty  or  insolence  towards  them." 
"Was  it  not  part  of  his  scheme,  too,    mquirea 


FATHER  HARVEY 


and  of  the  Chlireh  r        ^  ^°°^  °'  *''°«»  «>l<»>iM 

woJd  to  *^dT'I  '^'""^  ^^^''^  H«"^ey.  "and  I 

in  driving  hence^  hi^fh!  moment  prevailed 

believere."  "*  *^^  ™^»^t  handful  of  true 

KvS'Snt'?fTXSsrS'-T-°°P«an-s 
colonies  under  hL  contrnT^-i^^  «*  religions  in  the 
obtained  a  cSi£  o? SiL    ^  °^  ""'^^  "^^  ^ 

Ian A^.  S^iiT'cei^S^^ri  ^  '"^^ 
abundance  of  orea/>W   P  '-^^jan,  Quakers  with 

Quakers  raStiSg^ers^^hf^  ^°'^^'  ^^« 
batarians,  Jew^iSS  =;  ^^^batanans,  anti-Sab- 

and  the  m£rS?  rf  nl'e^?  2,""  ^'  «'  «P^°« 

taslcto  ^T^^p^^lSr^l^  .^  ^  ''-^ 
GovS.J^^dTr'1";  ""'•  .^'^^'S  CathoKc 
who  kn^  iZ  l^t'ct^sS^  *''°w^'!,«""y'  "^  ^« 
allowed  a  irThS,  wSt  Ser,^^  ^^  ^"t'  ^^ 
poral  order  he  w™.M  ^    wonders,  even  in  the  tem- 

Kes  Sd  "^^^what  Te.nr'"?"?"*^  ^°^  *»»^ 
they  haVe  profit    J^^f  and  bounds  would 

otW  who  c^SlLside  hSL  ^""^'^  *'^  ^  °° 
menhave7ntVi^''li'?ST"  ^^?r™  Governor.'  as 
"ButSSy^u^'^nwTT'^'^"^*^^^ 

P-^nt'^EL^rLfersr/tS^'^tiSar'*^^ 


,l   l«. 

1 

^1^! 

M-i 

!!f      1 

m 

n 

3*4    GERALD  db  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

After  a  brief  pause  in  which  he  appeared  to  be 
thinking  the  matter  over  after  his  deliberate  fashion, 
he  resumed: 

"For  besides  his  devotion  to  true  liberty  and  his 
respect  for  the  rights  of  all  men,  he  showed  a  strong 
hand  to  the  enemies  of  the  country  and  strove  hard 
to  promote  immigration.  He  oftentimes  reminded 
the  Home  Government  that  there  were  not  more 
than  twenty  British  families  in  the  Colony  of  New 
York,  though  in  Long  Island  and  elsewhere  both 
English  and  Dutch  were  increasing." 

' '  There  has  been  a  most  singular  blindness  in  it  all," 
commented  Mr.  de  Lacey,  "and  intolerance  has  been 
the  fatal  keynote  of  nearly  all  the  establishments  in 
the  New  World,  except  of  course  Maryland." 

"Williams  and  especially  Penn  made  e5orts  in  the 
direction  of  tolerance,"  conceded  the  priest,  "but, 
with  those  exceptions,  intolerance  has  indeed  pre- 
vailed to  the  detriment,  political  as  well  as  religious, 
of  those  foundations.  To  Maryland  people  of  all 
sorts  flocked  to  enroll  themselves  under  the  banner 
of  freedom.  So  would  it  have  been  in  New  York, 
had  the  policy  of  Dongan  been  continued.  And 
as  for  the  t->lonies  of  Massachusetts,  Connecticut 
and  the  rest,"  the  priest  held  up  his  hands  with  a 
gesttjre,  half-whknsical  and  half-despairing,  "it  has 
been  a  reign  of  butchery.  They  offered  huge  re- 
wards for  tiae  slaughter  of  savages,  who  might  have 
been  civilized  and  gained  to  Jesus  Christ." 

There  vas  an  accent  of  deep  pain  in  the  speaker's 
voice,  and  emotion  seemed  to  impede  his  utterance 
as  he  thus  spoke,  for,  like  his  brethren  of  Maryland, 
and  together  with  the  devoted  sons  of  St.  Francis, 
he  had  labored  in  season  and  out  of  season  for  the 
work  of  evangelizing  the  red-men. 


FATHER  HARVEY 

^^'^^^^::^,£'cr  r^  ^^^  ^^-e 

suffer,  and  of  a  suretrc^thoiL"''l  °*\"  dissentera 
°ne  though  the  nuK^ote'^g'they  car.  catch 
*^-.  Por  them  aU  tW  h«c  ^  .1*^  '^  pitifully 
whippbg-post.  the  pK  the^Ln-"  ^^"S^-  the 
us  pnests  perpetual  ir^-  '''^anding-u-on.  For 
escape  fn)nr^Sm„^P"J?"'?«,t  or.  should  we 
The  which,  in  truth  1?*^^*^  upon  the  gallows 
would  gladly  enS"^  '^^  ^"^  "^  ^  I^°we 

resumed  more  lightly  •  "^^otten  them.   He  presently 

Evdyn^:^:?S£K -j^PP^y  as  ^Is,  Mistress 
Pbbets.  Lorf  BeUom^t  offe^  .""T"*  "^  "PO"  the 
of  eight  to  the  IroqudswKn?^^^""*^^  Pieces 
"s->.  But.  even  ai^ongst  ih  '^°"^''  '^^^'^  °«e  of 
Inchans,  the  wily^heL.L^^^^  *»"  P^testant 
d«daring  thatTy^^'  ^8?^^,^°  ^  «^'=«^. 
might  lead  the  dfstaS  ^t^  to  *\  "^ssionarie^ 
them."  "  *"''es  to  make  war  upon 

^Th'^'w&^^f  y  ^*  1^^  recoUection. 
those  sSie]^^J..«"°"gh  themselves  sometimes 
not  stomach"^C'iK,i&SThfoH' *^!!*-*^^y  ~^d 
Corlear.  as  they  n^ed  ffi^  ^^'^^  *^«^  ^^ther 
show  us  in  making  uT^f'ifc"^°'y'  '"^^t  to 
,'  Here  in  New  EngS^d  t  °  ^^  ^^^"^'^  *"ne." 
all."  Father  Harvey  WMt„n^f*  *  "^  °°'  '^hgion  at 
practised  by  thJ^Se  ^ '"  \?^f  ^'  "^hat  is 
that  blasphemous  faS  of  H  '  ^atherism.  In 
^<^  Of  P-yer/^STon^'^fi-- JSJ^^- 

"''^'*"  Rotating  to  CoIonW  H»to:y,"  Vol  IV. 


ill 


^f  •'■■'; 


3a6    GERALD  DB  LACEVS  DAUGHTER 
those  orindples  of  intolerance  and  the  persecuting 

it  end  save  atheism  and  despairf  _^ 
^ravhlf ^e'maniacs  against  Pap^t8^^-^«l 

^ch  aU  we^  free  to  w^P^"^^  ^^^^t^the 

"This  very  Salem,    put  ™ j^^'^f  i„„  aAAtA  its 

Pilgrim  Fathers  came  for  sanctuary,  has  added  its 

^^^^^'^^Tthat'^'^^ess  against  witchaafC 
J  -Er^u^  Ho«rPv  "which  would  almost  seem 

Jhe  mind  no  le^.f^^J^^,  S  M  ^hj  c^ed  tfim 
"^irS^oft^^ jSni^^fullyascore 

^^Tt^ir^^imer-^d^vLlyn,  "The  very  air 

^e  SdieJS'wffi  tTe'i^t  obs^g  f^ 
"Oh    :  ^teess  Evelyn,  this  has  been  but  gnm 

'iS^Sr'F'l^rf  or  Why  should  I 


FATHER  HARVEV  3,7 

ten*^  ^l*^u*®  "  °°*  t°  ^  able  to  hear  of  those 
^g^  which  you  and  many  others  ^.^tdy  to 

speak  of  New  YorCnnH^^"     "1  ^S*"  "^xt  to 

to  h^.^^'^l^^^y™^"* t° both fither anddiuS 
nmy  pl^nt  anecdotes  which  Kad  ?o  teU*°  ^'^^ 

whde  population  rushed  forth  pell-meu/romVS 


!i 


1    >M 


338    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

their  wigs  showed  shiny  pates  that  were  believed  by 
some  to  be  gleuning  tomahawks;  portly  and  in- 
fluential citizens,  but  partially  dressed,  filled  the 
■breeU;  hats  were  clapi»^  on  top  of  night  caps,  and 
breeches  were  drawn  on  inside  out.  Men,  stumbling 
about  in  the  uncertain  li^t  of  the  lanthoms,  feu 
into  each  other's  arms,  giving  a  push  here  and  a 
haphazard  blow  there,  dodging  the  shadows  of  trees 
which  they  believed  to  be  lurking  foemcn,  flying 
from  higji  shrubs  which  they  mistook  for  tall  In- 
dians. Fat  men  ran  with  a  speed  long  unknoTm, 
outdistancing  their  thinner  brethren.  Blind  men 
blinked,  timorous  men  shook,  children  whimpered, 
and  all  with  one  voice  crjed,  as  they  sped  towards 
the  Fort,  hoping  for  shelter:  "Brant,  Brant  is  upon 
usl" 

Now,  all  this  time  the  fire  which  had  broken  out 
in  the  Fort  burned  steadily.  The  sight  of  the  smoke 
and  flame  increased  the  panic,  for  it  was  presumed 
that  Brant  was  applying  the  torch  to  the  town. 
The  men,  who  at  the  cry  of  fire  should  have  seized 
the  fire-bucket  which  hung  on  the  back  porch  of 
every  dwelling  and  assisted  in  controlling  the  con- 
flagration, were  so  scared  by  the  imaginary  Indian 
raid  that,  but  for  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison  and  the 
sailors  hastily  summoned  from  the  warship  in  the 
Bay,  the  Fort  itself  would  have  been  consumed  and 
the  fire  have  spread  through  the  town. 

With  such  light  and  pleasant  converse  did  the 
good  priest  dispel  the  gloom  of  the  previous  dis- 
course, which  he  feared  had  been  too  painful.  It 
was  a  distinct  loss  to  both  father  and  daughter  when 
thar  guest  left  them  to  go  into  Maine  on  missionary 
work  amongst  the  tribes  there.  They  missed  his 
interesting  talk  and  cheery  ways,  which  had  lightened 


I^ATHER  HARVEY 
the  loneliness  of  th^.  ^^ 

•PPear  as  ^  Z^^^  ^«ungs  and  made  his  visit 

80  often  said  in  the  attic  WW  flr^^'  '^^ch  he 
were  celebrated  at  sunriJ  i^  ^^^  P'^'^e  Mysteries 
to  begin  her  dSly  tT^*  '^O"'  the  senrant  S 


CHAPTER  IV 


A  NEW  CONFEDERATE 

TIME  passed  after  that  in  the  same  monoto- 
nous fashion  as  before,  broken  only  by  an  oc- 
casional letter  from  Madam  Van  Cortlandt,  Pieter 
Schuyler  or  Captain  Ferrers,  which  came  by  the 
Boston  Weekly  Post.  They  dared  not  make  these 
communications  frequent,  since  Captain  Prosser 
Williams,  as  they  learned,  was  still  on  the  alert  and 
still  determined  to  discover  the  whereabouts  of 
Mistress  Evelyn  de  Lacey.  He  had  various  sleuth- 
hounds  on  the  track,  and  Captain  Ferrers  knew  that 
he  still  kept  up  communication  with  Grcatbatch. 
Williams  had  other  and  more  mercenary  reasons  for 
this  intimacy  with  the  smuggler,  of  which  his  fellow- 
officer  was  unaware,  though  he  also  hoped,  as 
Eveljm's  friends  surmised,  to  obtain  through  the 
smuggler  some  clue  to  Evelyn's  disappearance.  They 
did  not,  however,  know  that  Captain  Williams  was 
on  the  wrong  scent.  He  trusted  that  the  skipper  of 
"The  Hesperia"  might  find  tidings  of  her  at  the 
Barbadoes,  whither  he  was  obstinate  in  believing 
the  de  Laceys  had  gone. 

Curiously  enough,  the  information  which  Prosser 
Williams  so  eagerly  sought  was  to  come  to  him  from 
another  and  totally  imexpected  quarter.  In  the 
interval  elapsing  since  Evelyn's  disappearance  he 


A  NEW  CONFEDERATE 


of  the  active  hostility  which  ^haiv^  ^^  "°^^are 
Household  had  sho;^  towards  h7"°f  '^'^  °^  the 
quite  willing  to  acc^t  hTm  "^  ^^^  ^"^nd,  wa^i 

teas  or  eve^ng  Sfes^ich'  •  ^^'*  ^*  ^he'high 
young  matron,  Ihe^vefmm?-'  ""  ^^"^  «^haracter  of 
WilliamshadearlylcovS^*^^^time.    Captain 

was  inimical  both  to  EveKd  h^^^^  ^^"^«"^ 
was  most  anxious  to  in^^l}^^'  ^^l*'^'  ^"d  he 
enemies  and  to  nrrm^AT  f^  .^®  number  of  their 
Therefore,  he  mo^t^^  ?  ^?^^^  towards  them 
intimacy.'  0^^? t^'c^^^^  "f^tivated  this  n^ 

m  her  erthusiastic  aTd  w2LC^  Jrow  Laurens, 
spoken  of  Evelvn    wLI^"^^^^  fashion,  had 

unreservedly  endorsed  hv!./i*^®"  mentally  and 

and  had  whetteSdete?^*,T  °*  ^r ''^^^^^^^ 
m  that  captivating  prSnce  an/f  T^^  °"^^  ""^ 
whida  always  thriifeS^'^ftJ  ^o  W  that  ^°'*« 
Por  Captain  Prosser  wimrmT  deepest  emotion, 
hnnself  that  he  w^hopfcv  fnT  ^'^'"^  ^^^ 
Evelyn.  In  fact,  had  U^nni?ir*^i^  ^^^^ 
reciprocate  the  affection  he^^P^^e  ^°^  her  to 

t^-^tel^'Tn^-p-  ^ShlSs^^ 
|t  least  to  throw  £rabe^^'\*-°  '^^^^  him.  o^ 
But  even  his  ove^e^^w.*""  "?"*  ''"^ties. 
not  blind  him  tol^e^\ZVf^  ^^  ^g°tism  did 
with  thinly  veiled  avSon  &"  '^^^^  him 
the  Laurens-  hospitaWrCrf  ST T^'  '^^*«^  ^t 
h>.h  teas.  whichtoHd  L^S^^t^ Zlt^^^, 


^^m_ 


332     GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

most  pleasant  and  informal  meal  in  Dutch  New  York, 
Captain  Williams  gave  no  outwMti  token  of  the 
tumult  which  had  been  awakened  withm  tarn  by 
the  mention  of  Evelyn  de  Lacey's  n«^«-  ^e  cast 
down  his  eyes  as  if  in  displeasure,  while  he  slowty 
Sed  the  spiced  wine  with  wHch  the  guests  w«e 
re^d.  as  though  he  desired  to  take  no  part  m  that 

*^hSus  Laurens,  from  the  other  end  of  the  table, 
frowned  angrily  at  his  wife's  words  of  praise  for  the 

^**"PoUy."  he  said  wamingly,  "do  you  not  ramember 
that  this  whilom  friend  of  yours,  whom  I  have  re- 
quested you  to  drop  from  your  hst  of  acquamtanc^. 
fe  under  the  ban  of  the  l^w.  and  should  not  be  so 
much  as  mentioned  before  a  member  of  His  Excel- 

^^Pdly's°ey^  flashed  fire.  She  glanced  at  Captain 
Williams,  whose  eyes  were  still  cast  down  and  whose 
whole  aspect  declared  that,  though  he  woidd  not 
Eive  expression  to  his  sentiments  out  of  deference 
to  his  hostess,  he  fully  coincided  in  that  gmuon.  _^ 

"Your   commands  in   that   matter,   Hetmcus, 
Polly  said,  "must  go  for  naught,  smce  Mistress 
Evdyn  de  Lacey  has  been,  and  is  now,  my  dearest 
friend     Those  who  do  not  wish  to  hear  her  name 
must  absent  themselves  from  my  presence. 

Captain  Prosser  WiUiams  bent  his  head,  while  a 
faint,  ironical  smile  played  about  the  comers  of  his 
mouth.  Also  it  occurred  to  hun  that  this  anger  of 
hers  was  most  becoming,  giving  an  additional  sparkle 
to  her  eyes  and  increased  animation  to  her  features^ 
A  possibility  likewise  came  mto  his  nund  that,  in 
her  indignation,  she  might  be  mdiscreet.  Therefore, 
he  said  suavely: 


A  NEW  CONFEDERATE 


333 

a^Z^  S  ^i^^«  Voung-^i  2filS 

as  he™'      ^^^  ^^  ^  ^^  "Pon  ^s  Kps 

have^'S'vryoStS^'^^''-    ^ut  I  would  fain 
what  I  the^^^ts^^^f  S^^n??  ^^  -- 

impossible  for  h^to  W»  ^  •'*  7°""^^  ^^^e  been 
for?,  and  at  tha'laSe'i^I^a^f igeSL'l  "'"*- 

law.  if T^^  noiiSfw  v""  ^J.^  ^^U  ^«  to  the 
of  EvelyJsl^^  fJ^,^^°^f''^^^  the  place 
est  cluefn^aTlfe  liK?  had  pfurbut\^^'*- 

things  there  to^L\?|°Xf"ents  and  he  resolved 
infonnatio^  "Ve   iS^ted' thl?  ^°."?  '^^  ^^^ 

^Sde  SlrP.-^o^f  a^n?^eSS5 

debt  the  MSSlS^nr^^'  ""^^  P'^^g  i°  h^ 
tahip  „™"ential  young  man  who  now  sat  at  Ws 
table.    He  was  quite  convinced  that  he  codd  nevl^ 


334     GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

make  Polly  a  deliberate  accomplice  in  such  a  scheme, 
nor  would  he  have  been  altogether  willing  so  to  de- 
base her  kindly  and  generous  nature.  But  he  did 
hope  that,  were  ^e  once  aware  of  the  place  of  Eve- 
lyn's concealment,  she  might  reveal  it  to  himself 
through  a  certain  lack  of  prudence  or  of  suspicion 
in  her  temperament.  Sooner  or  later  he  would  dis- 
cover Evelyn's  secret,  and  then  the  old  score  would 
be  paid  on  a  hundredfold,  and  his  own  interests 
meanwhile  furthered. 

In  the  course  of  the  evening  Laurens  put  his  chief 
guest  upon  another  scent,  'fliey  were  smoking  to- 
gether and  examining  som^  curious  spoons  of  odd 
workmanship,  which  had  been  bestowed  by  Mynheer 
de  Vries  upon  Polly  as  a  wedding  gjft.  The  two 
men  spoke  for  a  few  minutes  of  Mynheer,  his  man- 
ners, his  iirfluence  and  the  extraordinary  kind  of 
wife  he'  had  chosen.  While  discussing  tiiis  latter, 
Henricus  Laurens  said: 

"That  dull,  slow  wife  of  his  has  one  merit.  She 
is  a  good  hater." 

The  remark  in  itself  would  scarcely  have  aroused 
the  curiosity  of  the  languid  guest,  who  cared  very 
little  about  the  characteristics  of  most  of  the  Col- 
onials. But  he  was  struck  by  a  certain  significance 
in  his  host's  manner. 

"Good  hater?"  echoed  he.  "One  might  have  as 
well  expected  to  find  so  vital  a  quality  in  a  jelly- 
fish." 

Henricus  laughed.  "It  is  jealousy  or  I  know  not 
what,"  he  said,  "but  no  enemy  of  the  much-talked-of 
Mistress  de  Lacey  could  exceed  Vrow  de  Vries  in 
bitterness  against  her." 

This  piece  of  information,  which  he  affected  to 
«teride,  was  carefvilly  noted  by  the  guest,  and  in- 


A  NEW  CONFEDERATE  335 

2»red  him  with  a  sudden  interest  in  that  shapeless 

Then  he  inquired  as  an  afterthought :  ^ 

to  tMSjr"  •  "^^  ''^  **--  ^^"-  -  victim 
Mynheer  Laurens  shook  his  head. 

nev^°Uved   Vr^^-    ^  r'*  '^"t^^^s  fellow  has 
nwer  Uved     No  woman  that  was  ever  bom  couM 
make  him  lose  his  head.    It  is   I  m^e  no  ri^vi 
^I'^'^^'^^J^^i  of  admiration^U°let  fai 
iT  W'>,w  P'lf^  ""*  *^^  P^^'^  of  this  Sri  wWch 

•'It  is  an  amusing  comedy,"  said  Captain  WiUiams 
^^ch  might  justly  be  entitled  'B^uty^dTe 

But  he  said  no  more,  dismissing  the  topic  as  in 
Jfferen  ly  as  though  the  affairs  of  Mistress  dew" 

stati^      HP  ^  u  ?°T"*  *°  °"e  of  his  raAk  and 
station.    He  took  his  leave  early   with  a  WnHW 

T^T'%^^'^'}  *^«  n^stress'^of  the  h^^if 
whom  he  disabled  an  opponent.  He  was  resoL? 
^occasion  offered,  to  make  use  of  the^hiSued 
aiomal  Laurens,  whom  he  despised!  and  uSSse 
of  Vrow  de  Vnes^hough  he  had  but  U  tie  hopeS 
that  quarter  There  was  indeed  a  c^cftW 
hvmg  near,  she  might  have  picked  upl^e  bRf 


336     GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

information,  or  that  her  cautious  husband,  who 
seemed  possessed  of  universal  knowledge  concerning 
the  doings  in  that  and  other  colonies,  might  have 
let  drop  some  valuable  clue  to  the  mystery  of 
Evelyn's  disappearance. 


CHAPTER  V 

A  CLUE  DISCOVBKED 

cognomen  was  moJIff  ev«-  ^  "^S^-  Her 
seemed  more  dark  ^dlSl^Ti,  ™^"°'»«--  She 
garded  every  w"d  Md  ^t  nf^^  ^°'^'  ^^  ^- 
with  scarcely  v^^^L^^  °^  ^"^  y°"ng  mistress 

whispeKTvSs  Wnl  '^''*'^'  *«  had  he^d 

and^ciauTEvelS^'^'C^"^  '^'  ^'  ^^^y^ 
meanor  and   hw  K„.«  1  ^"^'^  reserved  de- 

exdted  their  ire  wMefherirrf'"  ^^^  townspeople 
hold  arts,  which  They  d^Sd  Z^.^"?.'"  h°"««- 
young.  provoked  thrir  je^SS  A  fll^  "^  °"^  «» 
suspicion  was  her  knoSe^f  ^I^^-  ^"'^  °^ 
other  virtues  of  pWs  n  t^t  i  i^^  •medicinal  and 
gained  in  the  &TLf  knowledge  which  she  had 
celebrated  a,LS*d^'!!"?f.f'?'"Kerstede.  the 

pare  Seneca-oil  for  cut,  ,nH  i?^  ^"^  ^°^  to  pre- 
of  herb  breM^  and  S^^L^^!??''**  ^""^  »  variety 

able  to  tr^rwiU  s^SiTSlV^^  ^^V''"^ 
humamty.  She  fn^^rjll^  «  ,  *he  nunor  ills  of 
the  service  of  W^^  ^^^  ^  her  knowledge  at 
MarSS."  nd'irCS^a^^^Sf-  "  '^^'"'  ^  ^" 
a-ngst  them  that  th^^^^JLi^r Ts  |S?I^ 


I  fl 


338  GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 
any  doctor.  They  did  not  scruple  to  avail  tfiemselves 
of  her  services,  which  of  course  were  offered  gra- 
tuitously, and  they  freely  acknowledged  the  efficacy 
of  her  remedies.  But,  behind  her  back,  they  shook 
their  heads  and  whispered.  There  was  something 
suspicious  in  the  possession  of  such  knowledge, 
coupled  with  a  marvellous  personal  beauty,  which 
was  but  heightened  by  the  simphcity  of  her  Puritan 

Another  circumstance  which  served  to  swell  the 
tide  of  unpopularity  that  was  threatening  to  sub- 
merge Evelyn,  was  her  friendliness  with  the  neigh- 
boring tribes.    Amongst  them,  as  with  the  WMen 
at  home,  she  became  an  honored  guest,  eanung  their 
good-will  with  trifling  gifts,  or  ministering  to  iJiem 
in  their  iUnesses.     Like  the  home  Indians,  they 
invented  for  her  terms  of  admiring  endearment,  and 
used  the  most  extravagant  epithets  in  describing  her 
beauty    Many  of  them  beUeved  that  it  was  a  Mam- 
tou  or  spirit  which  inhabited  the  frail  and  beautiful 
form    And  especially  was  this  the  case  when,  having 
discovered  by  cautious  inquiries  that  numbers  ot 
the  Indians  were  Catholics  who  had  been  won  to 
the  true  faith  by  missionaries  from  Maryland  or 
Canada,  she  spoke  to  them  of  reUgion,  heard  their 
catechism,  and  instructed  the  children,  regardless  of 
the  fact  that  she  was  thus  impenUing  her  hberty 
and  perhaps  her  Ufe,  as  she  liad  done  in  New  York. 
She  strove  in  every  way  to  continue  the  work  of  the 
missionaries,  baptizing  those  in  danger  of  death, 
and  making  a  certain  number  of  converts  amongst 
the  pagan  Indians.   Always  she  impressed  upon  them 
the  need  of  secrecy  and  caution  in  speaking  of  re- 
lieious  matters  or  of  her   ministrations   amongst 
them,  and  they  faithfully  obeyed  her  admonitions. 


A  CLUE  DISCOVERED  339 

they  taughtKew  SSn^J""'.^"^  ^^-  and 
fected  her  in  thoseX^  1  "^jo^st  lore,  or  per- 
old-time  friends   thpM^^'^^'^y  '^a"»ed  from  W 

softened  at  sight  of  h^wJre^^'^y  ^'^ck  eyes  which 
and  homelike  exDres^^;^^  .^^^^  a  '"o^  Idndly 
the  grim  Puritan'JTl^^o  .i'Tund^/r '^"^""^^^  °f 
whom  she  shrank  W^nJif^^*^.^*^  ^""^^  and  from 

traits  of  charac??wS  she  h/.}"  '^'^^  "^  «^y 
If  but  the  light  of  the  tt,^  had  learned  to  admire 

some  of  them  would  as  sl^  JS*?  ^'^^'^  g^^en. 

"^■If  th  ^"'^'^  Christ^s      ^"^  *°  "^^  ^**'^«-'  have 

the  Poie^o7dLw"°lfnP^*l?^y  t"™«i  to 

It  chanced  that   wh^n  ^jf^,,"*!,^  J'^"  father, 
centre  of  much  suS  S^^^of  *''"'  ^^'"^  *« 
natured  gossip,  a  shoS^!L!?i?^^  "^T  °^  '««  iU- 
Cpoke.  who  hkd  a  Sl,  T^l^-^'^^^S^^'^benezer 

airs,  wrote  a  lett^  tfCsiEn '^''  ["  ^°^^  af- 
this  sister  was  no  otheTtiffn  v  Manhattan,  and 
flatter  «^mbled  her  D^tch^If^  '^^Vries.  The 
fat.  indolent  and  foiaUv  J™,  "^^9^'  ^^^  had  been 
Cooke,  an  e^t  ^I ^?^fA^\t^^  Ebenezer 
thm  and  lantern-jaw^  rv  Vf  ^^}^^'  "^as  taU, 
and  going  much  abmad  o  ^*''aordmary  activity 
was  ,^li;S"^t-5?r°ad  amongst  the  people,  he 

mipartiaHty,  being  r^dow^t^?],^^  "^'^  ^^^ 
the  devil  himself  ^^t'^.eT^.TS'l.Z' 


m 


f 


340    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

He  further  declared  that  she  had  come  to  Salotn 
but  recently.  haiUng  from  no  one  knew  where,  ne 
name  by  which  she  was  there  known  was  assuredly 
not  Evelyn  de  Lacey,  but  the  keen  mstmct  of  jealousy 
caused  the  fat  woman,  seated  m  her  fm-^Jiair  with 
T^  inevitable  knitting  in  her  han<is.  to  smimse 
that  the  person  so  described  was  no  other  than  the 
fugitive  from  Manhattan. 

The  knowledge  occasioned  her  a.cuno^s.e^il^- 
tion.    She  blinked  at  the  letter,  which  die  laid  be- 
ade  her  on  the  table,  as  though  it  were  a  h^ang  thmg. 
She  moistened  her  Ups.  as  if  t^stm^  some  delectebte 
morsel.    And  then  she  began  to  think  m  her  slow 
fashion  to  which  of  the  two  men  who  she  toew  wou^d 
value  the  information,  she  should  impart  it.     ine 
result  of  her  coptations  was  that  she  sent  one  of  toe 
daves  with  a  message  to  Captam  Prosser  WiUiams. 
For  he.  in  following  the  scent  upon  which  he  had  been 
out  by  Mynheer  Laurens,  had  visited  her  more  than 
Snce,  and  had  won  his  way  into  h«:  Spodp^ 
chiefly  by  his  depreciation  of  the  much-praised  Mis- 
tress de  Lacey.    While  she  waited  for  an  answer  to 
her  summons,  she  reflected  with  complacency  that 
the  letter  had  come  at  an  opportune  tune,  when 
Mynheer  was  absent  for  a  couple  of  days  on  busuMss 
in  the  Jerseys.    For  he  would  have  been  certam  to 
oppose  any  action  by  her  in  the  matter. 

When  the  message  was  brought  to  Captain  Will- 
iams, he  was  smoking  with  some  other jn^nbers  ot 
the  Household  staff  and  ofiicers  from  the  Fort,  who 
were  seated  around  various  Uttle  tables  at  the  game 
of  lansquenet.  Captain  Ferrers  who  h^  b^n 
plai^ieat  a  somewhat  distant  table,  noticed  ttiat, 
on  recaving  the  note  which  he  instantly  read.  Cap- 
tain Williams,  keen  gambler  though  he  was.  got  up 


A  CLUE  DISCOVERED 


of  his  associate's  c^nectioiT^Vh^T''  ^^  *^*" 
of  the  de  Laceys.  found  h  hLTt?^*  Pewecution 
him  even  the  ordinarv  ^,,  **°  I?*serve  towards 
prudence  requiS^^  ^T^°^  •"^'^'y  ^Wch 
occuned  tohfeTthatthe  1T^^°"  '*  immediately 
be  in  some  w^  con^JSld^th^.t"  T*^^^  ^^^t 
was  instantly  on  thTalm  aJ^^  v^!,  ^"^itives.  He 
as  possible  fr^m^tTL^^ui^^^^^'^  ^  «»" 
nx)matWhitehaU  hetcSlw^^  i?  ^^^  °ffi«"' 
and  without  any  dSt^  id«  T*^'  ^^Z""^  ^*«"«'y 
do.  along  thaTfa^ar ItS?  wV^kT^^*  ^^  «'«'^ 
Laceys'  deserted  dweuTng  ^^"^  '^  *«  ^^e  de 

wi^d^iwch"ci?b:°a^^^ffi\ir  °"^  .^  '"^^ 

deserted,  and  ev^  the  nn^T"*  ^^^  *''*»*•  «*«!  and 
bereft  in  gt^t  pm  of  h"*^ '^""«"t  S^'den.  now 

sented  a  s^e  o?Sll  dS,f  ^ir  H '^  /^^^"'  P**' 
upon  the  gate,  witha  h^t^k       ^^  stood  leaning 
seemed  to^  toi^hat  he^^^  «>  poignant  that  it 
any  risk  tC^joZei^^o  iS^^^xr""^"'"^  «* 
reaKzed  before  howiXe  tw  ^r  "*  ^^  n«ver 
rend  and  tear  one  muThe  5^^'"^  ^'?^^'  «>«ld 
tion  that  might  bTof  inLfe  T^^-"'  «  ^epaia- 
stood  thus,  he  w^awa^  .^""^  •*^"\*'°°-    As  he 
familiar,  though  hSdllZ'^  *''^'  *PP««^ 
tance.    He  piesentW™^  v    ^^J"  ^  <=«^ain  riij. 
prise,  to  the^f  Vries  Sinn  7*''  ^  ?^  °f  '^- 
njom  of  which  rieaS^^f    'i^J"  **»«  drawing- 
of  the  fire  on  thSh^'^teo  f"^  P'T^"*  «1°^ 
tention,  he  Pas^d'oT?  thaTtS^  ?£lC 


^1 

i 


342     GERALD  de  LACEYS  DAUGHTER 

of  light  from  the  mansion  and  that  sound  of  a  mat- 
culine  voice  struck  him  as  somewhat  odd,  smce  he 
was  aware  that  the  head  of  the  house  was  absent 
from  the  town.  .    .  ^i. 

As  the  voice  he  had  heard  approached  the  open 
door,  and  a  step  came  crunching  down  the  graveUed 
walk,  Egbert  Ferrers  drew  back  into  the  shadow  of 
the  stone  waU,  for  the  voice  was  that  of  Captain 
Prosser  WilUams.  and  he  clearly  perceived  by  the 
light  of  the  lanthom  upon  the  pole  the  face  and  figure 
of  his  fellow-officer.  The  latter  stood  still  an  in- 
stant, looking  about  him  and  drawing  on  a  pau-  of 
goves,  and  it  seemed  to  the  observer  that  the  pale 
ce  wore  a  look  of  exultation.  After  a  brief  pause, 
Captain  Williams  walked  hastily  on,  apparently  tak- 
ing his  homeward  way  to  the  gubernatorial  mansion. 
Captain  Williams  was,  indeed,  exultant,  for  he 
had  had  a  wholly  satisfactory  interview  with  his 
ally,  who,  unexpected  as  it  was,  had  proved  more 
powerful  than  all  the  rest.  He  had  found  her  sitting 
unwontedly  erect  in  her  chair,  with  a  color  approach- 
ing to  a  purplish  crimson  in  each  heavy  cheek  and  a 
Bght  in  her  dull  eyes.  Thus  transformed,  it  ap- 
peared to  the  visitor  that  she  had  something  more 
distinctly  human  about  her,  as  though  a  jelly-fish 
had  suddenly  shown  signs  of  life.  Hardly  had  they 
exchanged  the  conventional  greetings,  on  the  part 
of  Prosser  Williams  with  a  little  more  than  his  usual 
scant  measure  of  civility,  when  the  woman  snatched 
a  letter  from  the  table  beside  her  and  thrust  it  mto 
his  hand. 

"Read  that,"  she  said. 

He  eyed  her  curiously  a  moment  before  he  un- 
folded the  paper,  which  had  been  previously  un- 
loosed from  its  silken  fastenings. 


A  CLUE  DISCOVERED 


343 

J;!^  ""'  ^"-^^  ""^'y  -P^ted.  with  feverish 
"Read I    Readf 

his  clothes  seemed  out  <„  -„  . ,.  ,„  , i .,,  '  -     ^^^^^V  of 
and  in  marked  contr  t' ,    .-    n^M"''*;{!^"T"?' 

beside  him.    As  he  ^c  .'    fhl  „•    .  u^'^'^t"" 

ey^.  became  mc^  oafior,'   iud  ^v '-'.    .     ,    ^'^  '"^^ 
in  his  breath  more  sl.urpiy  "       "  ""*"  *^^ 

"Most  excellent  Vrovv  '   ,„   -  r;  .,4    -tu-    ■    •  ^     . 
great  tidings  "         *"^'^^''    '"•    "-.jd,     this  is  indeed 

te»/S  IK  *"  **!  "  »  *'"  "qiiml  the  mis- 

emp?at.^^r'"lhSi' crKlon^f  ^•"•^- 
colonies  who  would  fi^  that  ^  °^-  °'^^''  "»  ^^"^ 
who  is  so  aSe  "  descnpt.on-none  other 

dJS  'aS^of  t  ■K!.°'r/"'  ^'^  '^"^  '"^'"ent  of  pru- 


344    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

"You  have  not  credited  me  with  blindness,"  the 
young  officer  said  defiantly.  "And  blind  I  should 
be,  if  I  did  not  perceive  her  exterior  gifts. 

"But  you  have  told  me,"  argued  Vrow  de  Vnes, 
eyeing  him  resentfully,  "that  you  hate  her." 

"And  I  have  told  but  the  truth,"  the  Captam 
replied,  "for  in  very  truth  I  do,  and  more  than  you 
caji  ever  understand.  But  _  hatred  does  not  close 
the  eyes  of  a  man  to  beauty." 

He  sat  down  again  and  said  in  a  different  tone: 

"If  you  wiU  but  give  me  this  letter,  good  Vrow, 
you  shaU  be  fully  satisfied  that  my  hatred  exceetk 
yours,  as  the  sun  does  the  pine-torch.  I  will  track 
her  to  Salem,  and  then  wei  shall  see,  you  and  I,  how 
little  that  same  beauty  will  avail  her." 

Vrow  de  Vries  was  satisfied,  though  she  would 
have  preferred  that  this  member  of  His  ExceUency's 
Household,  whose  visits  for  many  weeks  had  been 
the  stimulus  of  her  dull  life,  should  have  unreservedly 
agreed  with  her  as  to  the  sn.,iil  claims  of  Mistress 
de  Lacey  to  admiration.  But  here  she  felt  was  genu- 
ine hatred;  nor  did  she  pause  to  ask  hersek  how  it 
had  been  excited,  nor  guess  how  qmcldy  it  might 
melt  away,  if  the  conflicting  passion  of  the  man  s 
love  had  been  reciprocated.  .^    ,     ,         , 

"I  will  give  you  the  letter,"  she  said,  slowly  and 
deliberately,  "and  leave  the  matter  in  your  hands. 
My  husband  will  do  naught,  since  it  is  his  poUcy 
to  meddle  in  no  wise  with  the  affairs  of  others. 
Therefore,  this  matter  must  be  kept  secret  from 

Prosser  Williams  readily  promised,  and,  having 
possessed  himself  of  the  letter,  sighed  with  reUef  to 
reflect  that  his  visits  to  that  house  and  that  unm- 
teresting  creature  were  nearly  over,  since  her  use- 


A  CLUE  DISCOVERED 


more  to  anger  me."  i'*"*^".  ana  au  tnat  the 

She  stopped,  almost  chokmp  with  na.«mn  o.    i, 
^T'sSaf  '^n*- *^^g-hShff sband  hal 

th^^'  t'e^eye  "t 'hS'  °'^'."*tl^''^  '^^ 
j^,,      ou  evil  eye  at  hun,  and  has  bewitched 

int?C^tiiaS^*mS.r  hT th^ou^hf  sl^* 
new  way  out  of  his  difficulty.  Instead^  v.«T  ^ 
P^  of  law^airants  a/d  othS^^^uL'S^^ 
S  i^an^?r^/°  «^*  possesion  of  thriS 

others  as  the  pnme  mover  in  Evelyn's  arrest,  h^ 


346  GERALD  de  LACEVS  DAUGHTER 
was  a  far  simpler  process.  It  ^o«»d  leave  the  mattCT 
Tirtirelv  in  his  hMids,  and  enable  him  to  play  the 
J'aTS  iLuer.  and  otherwise  to  comportta^M 
io  as  to  earn  the  good  opimon  of  the  ^1  ^f^^^^ 
Sridentallv  of  many  others  to  boot.   HedeternMed, 

iSS%ut\ni^notTor^  l^l^irS 

fouS  he^e  her  a  hasty  good-eyenmg  ^d  went 

out  iilto  the  darkness.  .all„"«'=o'i^°"^^^^*  fLaeh 
been  observed  by  Captain  Ferrers.   He  f  alt  as  thoagn 

^f  wwe^SiR  on  air.    He  took  the  very  stars  to 
St^^s  h^Uh  and  the  m^^ant  ,oy  that 
possessed  him  at  the  behef  that  EYfly«  f^^^ 
iras  now  in  his  power.    Mmgled  with  his  burning 
de^r^  te'vengl  because  he  had  bee^PJ^-g 
scorned  and  outwitted,  was  a  longmg  to  ^  he^  a^ 
and  to  hear  once  more  the  tones  of  h^  Xf^^^^T^ 
tonging  which  was  scarcely  surpassed  e^"  ^y.^f * 
nf  ^k  bTOther-officer.    And  hope  surged  up  within 
hi^thard^esmd  friendless  iTthat  place  of  exile, 
S^S't^^d^ced  to  hear  reason  and  hsten  to 
his  s^t     He  vowed  to  himself  by  those  pale  stars 
?4vf  his  head,  shining  beside  the  wlute  ra^ance 
onhe  Milky  Wky.  that,  if  she  would  not  accept  him 
wiUinelv  he  would  attain  his  end  by  force.  , 

]St  he  had  to  think  the  matter  out  carefully. 
He  had  in  tl^  first  instance  to  devise  some  excuse 
Sr  Sg  ^  extended  leave,  though  that  would 
be  cS^  The.^  was  always  the  plea  of  urgent  bu^- 
ne^iid  he  had  seldom  asked  for  such  favors.  But 
he  had  al^  to  consider  that  the  late  f ury  agams^ 
vrit^es  which  under  the  administration  of  Governor 
?Ss  had  stirred  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts 


■■it'4— I- 


W'Mnm 


A  CLUE  DISCOVERED 


347 
^A  ^^^^  Salem  village,  was  at  an  end.    There 

STan^d'Tr.T-    Men  in  high  places.  mundS 
c«»cials  and  the  like,  were  ashamed  of  the  part  th^ 

thiy  had  played  in  the  late  trials,  and  remw^S 
fhoV't'^r^^**  ^^^  ^^  ^^fi^ed  and  thTSv 

SMS     He  argued,  however,  that  the  few  years  that 
had  elapsed  since  the  era  of  the  witchcraft  exXment 
had  not  materially  changed  the  temper  of  the  Se's 
^^•c  J^r  .'«"^t  ftill  be  a  sufficient  nuS  of 
persons  firmly  imbued  with  the  lately  univer«^  b^ 
hef  that  the  devil  operated  through  hiiman  creSu.^ 
Gloomy  superstition  must  be  lurldng  yet  in  the  f^ 
houses,  in  laborers'  cottages,  and  in  the  b^tV ^n 
rf  mimsters  of  the  Gospel,  who  had  made  SXs 

^<=S^T^",^  ^'^'?'^-  ^""^  the  reaction  thThld 
ensued  had  had  time  to  spend  its  force  so  thatX 
counted  much  on  being  abkto  stir  upThe  smoulder 

on  vvitcnes  Hill.  In  fact,  he  inferred  from  the  tmnr 
of  the  letter  from  Salem  that  the  beUenn  s^r^^ 
m  the  evil  eye  and  the  like,  was  still  a  forc^  to  b^ 
reckoned  with  at  the  scene  of  those  tra^c  events 
He  was  fidly  determined  to  make  the  vj^ture  and 
he  planned  out  every  detail,  in  so  far  as  he  coSd 
before  reaching  WhitehaU.  '"  -^  ne  coma, 


t      ' 


M^nwhile  Captain  Ferrers,  more  than  ever  con 
vinced   hat  his  broth«r-officer  was  meditati^s^me 

coTeJi^^^-?,^'S^^^'y"  ^"d  had  possib™ 
covered  her  hiding-place,  was  filled  with  an  arita 
nondifficult  to  control.    Uncertain  what  to  dThe 
walked  on  m  the  same  aimless  fashion  to  the  tavern 


8 


348     GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

of  Der  Halle,  hoping  that  he  might  pi<^  up  some  in- 
formation there.  Captain  Greatbatch  was  m  the 
tavern,  as  he  was  sure  to  be.  whenever  the  bngan- 
tine  "Hesperia,"  was  in  port.  Captam  Ferrers  was 
aware  that  the  smuggler,  for  one  reason  or  another, 
was  in  constant  conununication  with  Captam  Prosser 
WiUiams.  He  had  not  yet  heard  the  cmrent  report 
that  WiUiams  was  protecting  Greatbatch.  and, 
through  his  influence,  saving  him  from  the  clutches 
of  the  law  and  allowing  him  a  certam  latitude  m 
carrying  on  his  nefarious  practices.  .     ,  .     ^. 

Captain  Ferrers  entered  ahnost  unnoticed  in  the 
wate  of  a  bluff  sea-captain,  whom  he  presently 
heard  Greatbatch  introducing  to  some  others  as 
the  captain  of  "The  Prosperine."     He  sat  down 
quietly  at  a  table,  and  ordered  a  glass  of  Madeira. 
This  was  brought  to  him  with  a  plate  of  Deventer 
cookies.     He  broke  and  ate  one  of  th«e  almost 
mechanically,   and  slowly   sipped  his  wme,   while 
his  ears  were  open  to  the  talk  at  the  other  table. 
He  had  very  Uttle  hope  of  solving  the  mystery  there. 
Yet  he  knew  that  Greatbatch  was  more  or  less  in- 
cautious in  his  cups,  and  he  waitM  in  expectation 
of  some  chance  word  that  might  giv    him  the  clue 
to  Captain  V/illiams'   movements.     Now,   though 
Captain  Greatbatch  was  as  usual  well-pnmed  with 
his  favorite  potion  of  rum,  his  talk  for  some  tune 
was  purely  of  seafaring  matters.    Nor  did  he  so  much 
as  nation  the  name  of  Prosser  Wilhams.    The  old 
sea-doe's  rough    voice  rose  higher  and  higher  m 
argument  or  dispute,  but  he  uttered  no  word  of 
information  that  could  in  any  way  be  useful  to  the 
Ustener.     Vexed  with  himidf  for  the  unreasoning 
impulse  which  had  led  him  -aBtber.  instead  of  follow- 
ing Captain  Williams  back  W  his  quarters,  he  wab 


A  CLUE  DISCOVERED 


had  i««k  to  rfc^^itl    "!!\u^"'^*''^*<=h's  voice 

plainly  confideS  ^Su5denlv  how  ^  ^t  '^"'"^ 
»*  **  if  in  argument  anrt  Po^^:  ^S^ever,  he  raised 
say .  gument,  and  Captain  Ferrers  heard  him 

genS'and  wto'lSSs  5°.ri'^^  ^^'^  the 
shopkeeper  in  Salem  "  ^''^  '^"S^*^'  "^  « 

forS'of^tocf  l.r^de'^a  .^f^^  ^*  ^^e 
flections  in  Salem  ^^  n  .  ?^  ^^  ^^  family  con- 
paying  hS  a  ^^dt  t  th%^"  ^""^'"^  ^ad^^been 
All  was  now  cteS  to\^m  tu"^  t^  ^^  husband, 
lightning-nrsh      Th»         '  ^'  l''°"8*  revealed  by  a 

teWnlor?hepTeL:e°'^?hed'^"  ^^«  - 
to  their  bitter  enemv  Whlf^^  ^^^^^  '"  ^^'^"^ 
Vries  might  be  he  L  ^\  """^'^^  ^^  Vrow  de 
he  rose  4d  aWt  mth^n'*"??  *°  ^^  ^^^elf,  bu? 
changed  a  word  or  two^^S^  P^d  ^f  «^ore.  ex- 
out  of  the  tavern  *^^  landlord,  ana  sped 

taStil'iLrhlraSf '"^  '"t""'^  that  Cap- 
absence.  There  w^^l  tjf  ^^^"^^^  ^^^^«  "* 
could  take  ItwouMkl  ,  f^**^  ^^^°^  that  he 
obtain  l^ve  atTw.^  ^°'*  ""PO^^tle  for  him  to 
on  the  sfa^\'aV£t7^"'°Sro^h-  »>-  --date 
confer  with  Pieter  ScWef  whn  "^"""-^  ^^'  *« 
mtention  of  proceeding  imm^-^?  ^"oi^-'^ed  his 
chusett£  viiwr^hplf^^^t^'y  t°  the  Massa- 

FerrersinSSoTSeoth^"  ""^    "^  ^^  ^^^ 
what  steps  ™  re  poss«. W^  '  movements,  and  take 


350    Ge«ALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

real  anguish  in  his  heart  at  being  thus  chained  to 
the  spot,  made  Pieter  Schuyler  promise  that,  if  his 
assistance  were  needed  or  if  any  plan  were  decided 
upon,  he  should  be  summoned,  and  then,  leave  or 
no  leave,  he  would  go  at  once. 


•«aKft 


CHAPTER  VI 

A  NEW  DANGK* 

A'Ser^^iSSf  C  ^'^«-   Captain 
through  the  medSn  S"e?1^^^  discovWing 
of  Madam  de  Vrie^    o^  .w^?""  9^^^,  hrotha 
-nceming  the  oSjal'of  tha^"^"^^  ^^°^ 
the   umpike  road  from  Boston  anHT^"""^  ^^  by 
?fy  lingering  doubts  in  WsSt^  .  ^^"t^-^^  **  '«^ 
He  did  not  make  kno^  hfs^  ^,*°  "'^''  '<^«n«ty. 
to  his  informant  or ^  ^v ^w*  "^^  ^'^  ^ta««i 
place.    Nor  did  hS^dresTL^l^  "t^^^^^^  °f  the 
was  clad  as  a  merdiMtTn^^  anything,  since  he 
his  curled  locks  wSwdden„^J  ^^P^''  ^  ^^en 
w^  enabled  to  renSn  fn  tM?/  T^U  '^"^  he 
put  attracting  the  attention  ^<^^^^  ^J?"  '^ys  ^ith- 
ather.    On  the  ve™^f'°Se1„^*^;'  ^Xflyn  or  her 
their  house,  he  watohed  for       T^  '''"<=h  adjoined 
a  glimpse  of  the  £l  ^hiS  ^  hT  **,*  *^«  ^^ 

which  when  securS 'served  a^  fuel  J^'y.^*'  ''"* 
flame  that  consumed  hi^^'ij^J^lto  the  devouring 

t«ne  m  ascertaining  the  «.n^-  ^  *  **^  mtenrening 
both  in  i^d  to  Mist7^«  ,?^^"*'  °^  the  people! 
that  so  latdy  aS-enSnf  ^^  ^^'"^^^  *^  on 
Representing^himtK  °|  ^"hj«^t  of  ^itohcraft. 
•^h^pion  of^the^^in?ffiL'^"^-^^tant  and 
-*  welcome  in^  ^^  t'SeV:^^'^^-^-^ 


^ir> 


3S2     GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

amongst  various  classes  of  the  population.    He  also 
frequented  the  taverns,  and  felt,  as  a  doctor  feels  a 
patient's  pulse,  the  temper  of  men's  minds.    As  he 
had  expected,  he  found  that  amongst  the  older 
people,  the  more  ignorant,  and  those  who  had  been 
active  persecutors,  much  of  the  old  cisdulity  was 
still  alive.    Needless  to  say,  he  lost  no  opportunity 
by  word  o-  gesture,  or  by  a  recital  of  the  treatment 
even  at  i  .  >*•  day  accorded  to  witches  in  England, 
to  feed  t      flame  and  lend  fuel  to  the  fire.    On  the 
other  1   nd,  many  and  weird  were  the  tales  which 
were  told  him,  and  which  made  all  the  air  around 
vocal  with  the  death  cries  of  witches,  or  with  the 
shridcs,  the  complaints  and  the  outcries  of  their 
supposed  victims.   He  was  as  familiar  with  the  names 
of  Rebecca  Nurse,  Elizabeth  How,  Goody  Bibber, 
Rebecca  Fox,  Mis.  Bradstreet  and  the  other  re- 
puted witches,  as  with  those  of  Mary  Walton,  Abi- 
gail Williams,  the  Parris  children.  Rev.  Nicholas 
Noyes,  his  fellow-dergyman,  Parris,  and  others  of 
their  chief  accusers.    The  astute  young  man  of  the 
world  seemed  to  be  sounding  every  depth  of  credulity, 
ijrnorance,  diabolical  malice  and  superstition,  and 
idHamng  all  the  windings  and  turnings  of  human 
nature  in  its  attitude  towards  religious  matters  or 
the  supernatural,  once  it  has  escaped  from  the  guid- 
ing hand  of  the  Church.    But  the  most  curious  re- 
sult of  all  was  the  effect  of  his  discoveries  upon  him- 
sdf .    He  who  had  cynically  disbelieved  in  the  truths 
of  religion  (such  religion  at  least  as  that  of  his  par- 
ents), and  who  mocked,  in  so  far  as  was  safe,  at 
creeds  and  ministers  and  ceremonies,  was  now  im- 
pressed far  more  than  he  would  have  cared  to  own 
by  these  strange  narratives  of  sorcery  and  of  the 
influence  of  the  devil  upon  the  very  bodies  of  men, 


A  NEW  DANGER 


CHAPTER  Vn 


TRIED   FOR  WITCHCRAFT 

IT  was  late  afternoon  when  the  Town  Marshal 
and  the  constables,  charged  with  the  arrest  of 
Mistress  Evelyn  de  Lacey  on  a  charge  of  witchcraft, 
proceeded  to  her  house.  They  were  accompanied 
by  a  crowd  of  more  or  less  excited  people,  the  ma- 
jority of  whom  still  remembered  the  witchcraft  ex- 
citement of  several  years  before,  and,  though  less 
under  the  influence  of  that  delusion  than  their  elders 
had  been,  were  nevertheless  ctuious  to  watch  all  stages 
of  the  proceedings  and  to  hear  the  accusations  for- 
mulated against  this  stranger  who  had  settled  in 
their  midst. 

The  sun,  burning  low  in  the  west,  seemed  to  have 
an  evil  gleam,  and  cast  a  lurid  glow  over  the  land- 
scape and  the  trees  of  the  wood,  which  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  burnished  copper.  Coming  forth  from 
farms  or  dwellings  along  the  route,  dogs  barked 
furiously  in  angry  protest  at  the  doings  of  that  band. 
The  men  in  their  high,  pointed  hats  and  full-skirted 
coats,  arid  the  women  in  their  wide,  gathered  skirts 
and  sad-ooiored  hoods  and  mantles,  moved  along 
as  so  many  shadows.  The  wooden  dwelling  near  the 
turnpike  road  showed  windows  gleaming  in  the  red 
light  of  the  sunset.  Evelyn  was  alone  in  the  house. 
Her  father  had  begged  her  to  accompany  him,  as 


(  ' 


%^<lC3S  ""  ""«»  ''"Won.  s^iStaS;^ 

!*m  Hat  »ini.WJZo'.Sl'"'S  !'»<*  M  Evd™ 
?«'  S'a'  "ummms  »,  t£?;S'  "IvaiiM  lolSSS 


Mioocorr  iisoiution  test  chart 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHABT  No    2) 


^  -APPLIED  IM^GE     In 

^r^  '653   Eost   Mom    Slreef 

~^  Rochester.   Ne»   York         U609       USA 

g^  (716)   482  -  030(1  -  Phone 

^S  (716)    ZB8-  5989  -  Fq> 


3s6     GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

besfoTeanJtht  dSyf £  wo  K'^ 
es^^  before  he  could  urge  his  smt  and  claun  ^er 

klSt^d^S^rS^eJ^SiJ^^ 
revenge  aid  the  satisfaction  of  that  strange  hatred 
wSlways  went  hand  in  hand  with  h,s  perverted 

^°The  young  girl,  hearing  the  order  for  her  arrest, 

Tor^  'the  h'^.use'letween  two  constables  preceded 
hv  the  Town  Marshal  and  accompanied  by  a  motley 
S)wd  A  last  gleam  of  light,  like  a  sardonic  smUe. 
Saved  over  the  bleak  surface  of  the  Witches  HiU, 
playea  over  tu  cortege  moved  on  through 

Inson  La*  up  S  Street'into  Town  House  Lane 

head  It  was  fortunate  f  r  the  prisoner  that  the 
^?^"of  thriate  terrible  aelusion  had  spent  itself, 
Ehe  thus  istpelThe  brutal  treatment  then  meted 
out  to  the  accused. 


TRIED  FOR  WITCHCRAFT  357 

sation  would  never  WKp/"  ^  °^  ?^'°t^' the  accu- 
few.  together  with  theZiZTj^^  ..^  /^"^ti<^al 
had  never  been  convinced  of  the  fnr  °^  f""  ignorant, 
of  the  former  trials  or  fe?t  P.h  ''^/"."^ '^'^J^'edness 
consequences.  These  were  ^t^tT"^  °^  "'"^  tragic 
the  old  colonial  law  agJinst  w  .,f "^.'"^  *"  '"^"ke 
support  of  a  sufficient  number  .'^^  """"^  ^""^  ^he 
to  constrain  thrmaSstrate,  m  ■*  ""^^  °^  '"^"^n^e 
the  arrest  of  Mistre«  Psf  1  °.  "r""^  =*  ^a^ant  for 
detention  in  prison  um^'f^'^^  facey  and  for  her 
ten  days  from Vn"  Sd^lS'  ""'°"'  =^^"t 

eveTSng'ThetLnT °"  r  "^^  '"  ^^e  dusk  of 
to  the  fid  mee^nSu  eTn'HS'c;^'"  '"^^  P^so" 
special  session  of  the  court  w^cfV^*',^^*'  where  the 
three  ministers  were  nre Ln f  "  ^  ^'^'^-  Two  or 
magistrates.  lookinK%Str^n;  "'^/^*  ^^^'^e  the 
at  this  beautiful  yfunTwomZ  ^''u  '°'"'""  ^^^e^ 
guiltyof  absentingXrSirC?,  1,,'^''^  ^'J*^^^'  ^^^ 
whose  name  did  not  aMei  „  ''^"''^^  semces. 

and  who  had  never  come  fo°"  1"/  P^,"'^  ^^S^^ter 
ment.    Many  witnesTe"  wSS  rTre^f '.  ''"'  ^'-^- 
to  give  testimony  againit  her    tif     t"*'  P^<^Pared 
former  trials,  to  make  sdL^  J'  ^  °"^^  "°''  ^s  in 
of  having  bewitch^or  ''afflicted  ••T'  %^^''  ^^' 
went)  any  particular TndiSafs      fe^^^Ph^ase 
madness  had  died  out     B.Tt  ili       ^""^  ^^^^  of 
general  accusations  against  wTt  "^^"^  ""^^ne  and 
well  versed  in  al"  doSo  ..         t'"-  """^^^^^^ 
very  beauty  and  the  chaL    ^T'"^'"^"'^-    Her 
c^ted  against  her  and  esSllvth.''  T""^""  *^ 
^he  was  known  to  exerTreJ^.^'^  •efgK„-'^^ 


M 


i'    > 


358     GERALD  DF.  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

dians  conversing  familiarly  with  them  in  their  own 
Toneuer   She  was  said  to  possess  power  over  dumb 
Ses    and  to  have  an  uncanny  skill  in  mediane 
and  in  the  preparation  of  various  medicaments.  _  It 
was  singula?  that  none  made  any  charge  of  having 
beTn   nlTred  by  her.  although  many  declared  ^e^r 
belief  that  her  superhuman  powers  imght  at  any  hme 
be  exercised  in  the  spells  of  f  «^^^    ^h^,  inost 
damaging  testimony  was  given  by  Evelyn  s  own 
seSV  Joy,  who  testified  to  having  seen  Satan 
himsdf  in  the  attic  of  the  de  Laceys'  dwelhng,  or, 
STt  were  not  Satan,  then  her  young  mistress  s  fa- 
-I-        ~^f      TTpr  pvidencs  was  corroborated  oy 
to  mo  C   GoSy  w£s   who  testified  that  her 
daugh?er  had  returned  to  her  from  the  aforesaid 
dweUing  in  a  condition  of  mortal  terror,  and  had 
^nsentld  to  return  only  on  the  assurance  that  she 
would  never  be  required  to  revisit  the  upper  story 

°^Prosir"williams  listened  carefully  to  all  the  evi- 
dence   Concealed  from  notice .  as  he  supposed  himself 

to  te  he  f°asted  his  eyes  on  the  beauty  of  the  young 
rirl^' countenance.  He  was  filled  with  a  reluctant 
l^rS  which  enraged  him,  t-.  and  sumd  up 
within  him  the  malignant  spmt  of  hatred  that 
Xavs  mingled  with  his  infatuation,  as  he  noted 
£  Kourage  of  the  girl  and  the  proud  coldness 
of  tir'be^ng'  Her  contemptuous  gaze  swep^m 
turn  over  aU  of  those  who  composed  the  co^ 
rnagistrates,  ministers,  accusers  a«<i ,  ~"f^^¥^^i?! 
ttwugh  she  could  not  help  but  marvel  at  thetf  folly 
Sd  feel  a  certain  compassion  ^'1*?^'^ '^lindness 

While  Toy  was  giving  her  testimony  Evelyn 
snE  anfiook  her'head.  as  the  girl,  who  had  b^^'J 
reaUy  as  fond  of  her  young  mistress  as  it  lay  m  her 


,1 


TRIED  FOR  WITCHCRAFT  35,^ 

ously  told Tr^tale  or  ul  "v.^*"""  ^''^  ^^^  P'-evi- 
various  additions    'Cn      ^^•'^  ^^Kgested  to  her 

withsomethi„g"Le"ultatt.TK'''p^''°  "^^  "^^^d 
For.  though  he  tot^ty'S  feved^-r  > ''"'  ^'"'■^'"^• 
character,  he  saw  that  ft  t  1m  "?  '*^  s"Pematural 
damaging  to  t^  SsLe/lnf  :?Lt^P""^^^'^ 

strictly  prohibited  V?Z  '^'^'^"/"P'^  ^n  act  was 
Bellomont  ^^  *^^  ^^'^^"^  decree  of  Lord 

wh^^chSeTo  tTeMSf,  ^-«-°"y.  a  minister. 

andNoyesha°dlt^Setrrr'  -lof  ^^"!f 
made  a  rambling  speech  Tn  f kT  '  ?°*  "P  ^"d 

cried  out,  "that  thev  ^,  ^  '^""''"^  "^  ^^ich  he 
guard,  le  t  the  Ssh™  /'^^  ^"'^  ^^  "P°"  their 
things  amongst  them  M  °"^^  "1°"^  «^°  ^^^h 
roar&g  Kon  Then  wouli  ^rif  ^  ■i'^"  "'^^'^  "^  the 
them  in  greater  wr^tlT.      t!^  '^^^^  ^"'"e  amongst 

and  the!oud  tn-     ,t'  7i%^u^r'T  ?^"  ^^^'•' 
in  anger  upon  1         tn^*       ^^^  **^'*'"'^  thundering 
Such  creatures  L  the  I   ^"'l  "P^"  ^he  country^ 
invested  with  tl,f^         ^°""S  ^^™ale  before  them 
ha^g  lifted  ,^n  ^f  ^^T"'.  '"^'•^  °f  human  beauty' 

byXMl'shiJ  <^?devJstSe  hei?\"^*'  ^"-^^ 
of  the  covenant  witr^Ie        ,         ,  helhsh  mysteries 

Despite  theTavT*^/^  """"'' -^^  ^''"''"  destruction." 

the  experienS^  t^hf    Z  P°'i*'°"'  ^^en  judged  by 

'  '^^^yn  could  not  repress  a  laugh. 


I.       '  M 

J.       ( 


1  \ 


^l  \ 


360     GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

^^^-         -J-      ^ooictrate  who  seemed  perturbed 
The  presiding  magistrate.  ^""  "=:  •      ^  ^ho  of 

and  unLy.  began  to  ^^f  ^^'°^„2  ter  Cd  anta^^^ 
course  denied  ^^ ^^^^%^^Zoi%\r.dr,lity  of 
verted  vnth  someth  ng  of  scorn  ^^^_  ^ 

her  accusers,  and  stiu  n»ore  u  charges.     As 

ably  educated,  would  entertain  such  cnag 
she%tood  before  them  ^"^^^J^^/S  falling  back 

her  slim  upnght  fig'^'^^.f^r  fett/red  hands  behind 
of  her  hood  and  '"antle   her  fetterea  r  ^^^ 

her  back,  and  her  ^^^^l^  „^,^^f  ^gStU^^   that 

curves  of  her  throat,  P^°!!f -J^f  C'   at  the  Van 

pover  in  the  g.^V  .^"^^S  her  l^k  so  beautiful. 
Cortlandtinansionhadheseenne  ^^_ 

"Why.  sir,"  she  ^aid.     does  ^t  uot    pp-  ^^^^^^ 
trary  to  common  sense  ^"^J^f^^,,f  ^Th  which  you 

rtitrmankcles  an  instant  on  my  h^^^^^^ 
One  of  the  magistrates  at  least  looKea 

iS'S^^prr  ^^^rald  no?'answer. 

^^^.^SSfnrfaf  rmount  on  a  br^-^t^ht 
fly  out  through  yonder  ca^rnent.a^you^^y  ^  ^^^ 
manner  of  witches?    ^r,  betjter  suu.  ^^^ 

change  each  one  °^  y°^^°^^fS  M^er  would 
a  rabbit,  a  mouse,  a  gumea  pig. 
be  least  harmful  to  myseU.  ^^^  ^^^. 

The  judges  and  the  jury,  the  ci^rK  ^^.^^^ 

stables,  looked  uneasy  at  tt^is  suggesti 
•^rUSTnortrS^  your  Honors,  the 


the 


TRIED  FOR  WITCHCRAFT  36, 

Prosser  Williams  marvelled  at  the  girl's  audacity 

and  the  gay  spirit  which  thus  moved  her  recWesslv 

uV;  a^eX'    '-r'fP.^  ^^  thought'shSJS 

bdkve  tha?  It  ^"'  °^  ^'''-  P"''"°"'  °^  did  not 

Bu    Ihe  effor  «    f  »f'«!f  ^^T'^  ''"  ^^^«  serious. 
iJut  tne  efforts  of  her  dauntless  spirit  to  turn  th.. 

accusa  ions  against  her  into  a  jest.  wh°le  a?  he 
mem  werf '"?^""  "PP^^^""y  unansSwe  argS 
^nn  iorL^U^^  ^\''^"'  reprimand  from  fhe 
severitv  of  Lr™.'''^  ''^^'^y-  ^"^  '^  hi"t  that  the 
seventy  of  her  sentence  would  be  augmented  bv 
the  expression  of  such  sentiments  on  her^^  She 
however,  persisted  in  her  argument,  thought  s  time 
with  a  countenance  of  due  gravity : 

But  can  I  offer  a  stronger  plea  in  mv  behalf? 
For  would  It  not  be  impossible  that  I  Luld  ™  s 
superhuman  power  and  not  use  it  to  my  own  ad! 
lSmT^\'ll^  detriment  of  those  who  felsefy 
accuse  me?    I  marvel,  not  at  the  credulity  of  vonder 

^ef^^"'"^'^'.''"*  ^'  y°"'  '^^"'ed  gentlemen  ■• 
Her  plea  was  not  entertained,  though  the  allusion 
to  their  creduhty  angered  them,  and  the  twssSfes 
?o'J!f^'"^?''*'^^  ^"*  '=°'d  shiVers  of  apSension 
down  the  spine  of  more  than  one  of  those  whorS^e 
had  designated.  For  might  not  her  powers  tem^ 
SsSn„d'  ^:''^'^'y  manl?:sted%oTh^r- 
ITSlW  f  '*  Y^^  *^^^^»"  that  each  felt 

as  unwiUmg  to  assume  the  characters  she  had  <;pv 

Sis  rr*"  '^'"?-"^  ^"^  "^^^'^  Honorfthe  mag: 
manner  ^"'^^     °''  "P°°  ^^^"^  '"  *^«  ^dicated 

tP,^/°J  Joy.  under  the  influence  of  superstition,  her 
terror  of  her  late  mistress,  who  had  treated  her  ;vith 


I     ; 


^t!^l 


I  =*  3 


36.     GERALD  de  LACEY'  ,  DAUGHTER 

so  much  kindness  and  to  -hom  f  c^ha^adTven 
calmly  she  Ytr"^fL^ii^:^J^^c^^r.gs  as  an 
gence  caused  her  ^o  ^ega'^".  ^  accusers  and 
unmitigated  farce  and  t°  tu^.^^^dicule  He  won- 
the  office-s  of  the  kj/ to^ewso"^  of  the 
dered  if  s.^"  had  ^f  r^  J*^  ST^Yf-ted  upon  reputed 
punishments  that  had  ^.^"  Xilst  decade  He 
Pitches  and  wizards  withm  ^^^^^Jl^  ^is  face, 
could  not  know  *^t  it  was  a  giimp  ^^^j_ 

which  she  had  caught  ^«pite  his  etton 

of  demeanor.  ^ et,  .'^'vri  likewise  chilled  her  heart 
he  had  to?™  *'Uw?4rF^„o  sooner  had  she 
with  '."'•'^•"f  ITS™  what  she  had  previondy 
S?iS.rttaaS'o.h.,».njiJ»M^£- 

L^/of  tiS  rSt-afiy-ht"  ^o  .ess  than  in 
"StSTeaJ  «.  was  -^J^SlSltTh'^ - 

Sf 'St?Se'?rd™t£: onS-hrha^  be» 


TRIED  FOR  WITCHCRAFT  363 

ance  of  Prosser  Will,-=.,^1  *u    ^"^'"y-    The  appear- 

S  fece  anH   If"'  '•  ^  ^""'^^  ^'^h  relief  from    hi 

c£St  recrudescence  of  the  witchcraft  e7 

and?  hii-i^"""'*  ^"*^^  ^^^^^^^s  were  being  put 


if  "    '  i 

^  '4 


I     '    1  )i 


364     GERALD  DE  LACEVS  DAUGHTER 

wit  and  calm  demeanor,  he  laid  strong  emphasis 
:j^n  the  fact  that  no  evidence  had  been  as  yet  ad- 
duced  to  prove  bodily  harm  done  to  any  of  the  wit 

"T\ws\herra^IeTtum«lt.  and  all  seemed  to 
be  Lig  together.    Dignity  and  decorum  were 
£t^Se  man  cried  out  that  the  prisoner  shouW 
^  out  to  the  torture,  since  she  refused  to  confess. 
Another  suggested  thkt  the  punishment  meted  out 
5f?he  past^fo  all  accused  of  sorcery  should  be  re- 
caT^SlaTed  to  inspire  this  reputed  w^tch^thsalu^^ 
tarv  fear  and  confusion.     Meanwhile,  the  central 
fi^Tre  in  that  strange  scene  stood  apparently  un- 
mnvpd   though  the  girl's  heart  quailed  within  her 
rihe'hSd'that  .M  uproar,  the  .vile  n^es  she 
was  called    the  fierce  muttenng  nsing  into  shouts 
Tainst  her     Her  delicate  and  sensitive  nature  was 
Sy  a^ected  by  the  horrors  of  the  scenes  deputed 
the?  the  judge  having  at  last  obtained  silene.  the 
rlerk  read  aloud  the  account  of  former  tnais,  tne 
iSris^nment  in  dismal  dungeons  and  the  culni.nat- 
iT^rSy  on  the  bleak  and  dreary  hill,  which  had 
belnT£°an  evil  omen  ever  ^jnce  her  amval  in 
Salem      Her  mind,  however,  rose  into  the  re^on 
of  orayer     All  the  faith  and  hope,  every  dmne  irn- 
?XTcharity.  which  had  consciously  or  uncon- 
sciouslv  shaped  her  life,  came  now  to  her  aid.    bhe 
live  thMdTs  with  a  certain  exultation  of  spint  that 
fhThad  wtund  worthy  to  follow  to  n|w  way 
of  the  cross,  and  to  ascend  her  Calvary.    »ne  re 
joiced  in  th;  knowledge  that  her  exik  and  tha^of 
L^  fattipr  such  orivations  and  discomforts  as  tney 
Jrd'ScT  exSrienced,  .-^  her  pi^sent  sv^en^^^^ 
as  well  as  the  grim  possibilities  of  the  future,  coma 
have  b^n  avoidedrhad  she  .  renounced  her.  faith 


TRIED  FOR  WITCHCRAFT  365 

Beflomon?  ^^'  objuration  in  the  hands  of  Lord 

Tho!?  t!^li  she  said,  "I  :  .e  Thee  thanks  that 
f]^/  t  ,*?,°"^.''*  ""^  vonhy.  who  have  been  so 
fond  of  worldly  pleasures  and  of  the  brighter  side  of 

Captain  Prosser  Williams,  utterly  unable  to  guess 
at  such  sentiments  as  these,  sat  gloating  over  the 
scene  and  at  the  terror,  the  humiliation  and  thi 
degradation  which  that  ^irl,  so  late  the  idol  of  a 

in  i^fn"]  fK'^.,'""'*  ^  ^'^'-""S-    It  is  true  he  had  it 
m  mind  that  he  would  not  permit  u.itters  to  pro- 
ceed to  too  great  extremities;    that,  once  she  was 
safely  lodged  in  the  Town  Prison  he  would  visit  her 
declanng  that  he  meant  to  save  her  and  that  in  the 
end.  If  It  became  necessary,  he  would  claim  her  under 
mITZ^""^  formerly  issued  by  the  Government  of 
Manhattan,  and  have  her  conveyed  to  that  citv 
where  she  would  be  safer.    He  hoped,  in  fact,  that,' 
once  her  spint  had  been  broken  b>  the  terror  of  he^ 
situation  and  all  that  she  would  be  called  upon  to 
endure,  she  would  be  willing  to  accept  voluntarily 
a  smtor  who  must  be  associated  in  her  mind  with 
an  that  was  gay  and  pleasant,  and  who,  through  his 
official  standing  and  his  influential  connections  in 
England,  could  offer  her  a  very  desirable  alUance. 
It  was  not.  therefore,  without  design  that,  when  the 
tumult  was  at  its  height  he  permitted  her  to  see  him 
only  to  encounter  a  cold  and  haughty  stare  full  of 
contempt  and  aversion.     Springing  from  his  place 
m  the  ardor  of  his  infatuation  and  in  the  heigh'  of 
his  exultation  at  her  humiliating  position,  he  took 
advantage  of  the  uproar  to  advance  towards  her 
though  he  had  no  definite  idea  as  to  what  it  wo„ld 
be  wisest  to  say.    He  had  some  vague  intention  of 


1f!l 

,if! 


■4 


366     GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

oractisinc  a  deception  and  whispering  that  he  had 
ZmoZhcr  mil  the  intention  of  Protectmg  hen 
But  the  lovely  eyes  of  Evelyn  measured  him  coldly 
from  head  to  foot,  as  she  said  curtly : 

"Have  vou  too  been  bewitched r 

"Yes   and  b^you."  answered  Prosser  Wilhams 
flushing  from  chin  to  forehead  at  the  contempt  of 
her  tone  and  his  red  hair  seeming  to  gleam  redder 
than  ever  in  the  light  of  the  pine  torches. 

"bS  me,  g(^d  sir,"  said  Evelyn,  mockmgly. 
"thSTi  have  never  troubled  to  cast  a  speU  m  your 

*^Wi?h"ihat  she  turned  her  back  upon  him.  He 
contJolled  by  an  effort  the  furious  rage  which  pos- 
^^e,l  him  and.  trembling  all  over  with  passion 
Xmed  to  his  place  just  as  the  magistrate  called 
SeTfor  order.  The  silence  that  again  ensued  was 
broken  by  a  sound  sufficiently  terrifying  to  drive 
Sotoer  matters  from  the  minds  of  those  present. 


I. 


CHAPTER  virr 

THE   RESCUE 

'THIS  sound,  the  most  appalling  that  could  Kwf 

the  pioneer  stories  of  Indian  atrocit  and  of  who  e 
sale  massacres,  with  all  the  grewsome  de4.T«  .. 
companying  them,  were  still  frr^h^^  t-  ,^?" 

pinds.  Men  in  the  courtroom  San^  to  t.f^'^'"^ 
jn  consternation;  women  rddlKX^or^,;' 
Sraid^ton^'  l^'.  '^°°'-  *'^^°"2h  which  the?^  J 
iS  n  thpf  t'^  "^^"^^  ^^  ^"dians  might  l4  lurk- 
Sfir  places    tl"'.?-  V^^"."  l^'  Judges  abandoned 

fn  K»         -J  scalpmg-knife;   still  less  did  he  desire 

ndst.Sti^tiLrrt^^    ThlrfwasTK 

feir'"'^"^  '"  ^'^^^"S'^  th^  °P^n  door^nd  a  rush  ol 
feathered  wamors,  their  fac^  thickly  daubed  with 

^  L'Tback  .n/nT"f  ''°°'^  "^i"'  ^'th  hands  bound 
at  ner  Dack  and  now  forgotten  by  the  fiercest  of  the 


r*l 


368     GERALD  .B  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

Mingled  ^th  h«  a brai  w^  a  ^^^^  ^^  { 
least  she^ould  be^'^f  jt  darted  throu^  her 
Captain  Prosser  W^f?|-go^e  hope  for  her  in  her 
brmn  that  there  P^gl^^^^?  ^^Ziects  and  in  the  fact 

Sedge  of  vano^.I"<^f^Je  tribe  and  had  made 
thatshewasam«nbaofon^tn^ 

with  it  a  Silver  Covenant  01  r  ^^^^  ^^^^ 

The  warrior  mounted  *  ho^^  w         ^^  ^s  back. 

ing,  and  1"^^  her  by  a  sw.ft  move^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^^ 

l:fSViZ^'^^-  astonishment,  a  vo.ce 

''^^•l^^rmrio^.-be  not^a^^^  ^,,  ^,,,er  in 

Hope,  joy,  «tif^"^^leSd    Surely  the  grasp 
swift%e^onthroughhermma  j     3^ely 

in  which  she  was  held  was  rn  j  Ferrers 

the  voice  that  spoke  ''^s  that  01     b  ^gd 

gfe  asked  a  breathle^  ^S^  &  them  came 
without  slackening  ^f  •  7^^|\he  confused  sounds 

the  tramp  o^^^^f.^^I^^n  was  awaking  to  the  penl 
which  showed  that  the  town  was  a     ^^^b 

by  which  it  was  threat«iecl^  ^^^^^  ^he 

was  an  indescnbable  one.     i  n  j^j^abitants. 

alarm  and  spread  terror  ^^gs  ^  ^ 

Many  stole  forth  ^^-^.^^^^^re      Others  barricaded 
place  they  knew  «°t  where  ^^^  j^,^^ 

themselves  withm  ^heir  dwemng  ,  ^^^^  ^^^^ 

to  their  firelocte  and^^^^^^en  Sionf  ^^^ 
ance  they  could  i^^  ttie^  pr  V     ^  ^^^^6  through 
Pine-knot  torches  A^shed  here  ^^^  ^^j^y. 

the  darkness,  and  sent  their  gieau 


1 


THE  RESCUE 


369 


flowing  rivers,  where  the  dry  stalks  of  the  lately 
beautiful  water-lilies  rested  on  the  surface  of  the 
water,  symbolical  of  the  fair  lives  that  had  been 
wrecked  and  ruined  in  that  vicinity  by  false  and 
idle  superstitions.  The  heavy  veil  of  blackness  had 
fallen  upon  the  woods  skirting  the  town,  which  to 
the  minds  of  the  terrified '  inhabitants  seemed  to 
be  peopled  with  savages,  ready  to  spring  forth  at  a 
given  signal  and  with  tomahawk,  torch  and  scalping- 
knife  to  make  havoc  in  their  paths.  The  trees  nodded 
and  whispered  together,  as  if  in  consultation. 

Everything  was  furtive  and  stealthy,  but,  after 
that  wild  war-whoop  and  the  trampling  of  galloping 
horses,  there  ensued  an  ominous  and  terrible  silence 
on  the  part  of  the  invaders.  Imagination  ran  riot, 
picturing  the  foe  as  creeping  on  insidiously  and 
noiselessly  until  vantage  points  would  be  found  in 
every  street.  Even  the  boldest  of  the  citizens, 
members  of  military  companies  and  train-bands, 
who  had  armed  themselves  to  make  some  attempt 
at  resistance,  were  silent,  oppressed  by  that  ter- 
rible stillness.  They  felt  a  reluctance  to  raise  their 
voices  above  a  whisper  and  to  ask  of  the  night  the 
secret  which  it  did  not  give.  Once  the  stillness  was 
broken  by  the  nasal  tones  of  an  itinerant  preacher, 
reciting  aloud  from  the  Psalms: 

"Fear  and  trembling  have  come  upon  me,  and 
darkness  hath  covered  me.  The  fear  of  death  hath 
fallen  upon  me.  My  heart  is  heavy  within  me. 
Have  mercy,  O  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  me.  For 
my  soul  trusteth  in  Thee." 

In  that  hour  of  universal  terror,  perhaps  in  the 
ears  of  many  sounded  the  djring  shrieks  of  witches 
hanged  upon  the  hill,  and  the  groans  of  tortured 
victims,  seared  with  the  brwding-iron,  scourged  and 


!;  hi 


n-     III 


'II 


370  GERALD  «  tACETS  DAUGHTER 

ctreetc   where  appeared  no  savage  form,  and  upon 

statute.     Captain  Pros^rw"  ^3^4  him 

almost  alone  m  the  ^^d  rage  wnic    y^ 

when  he  began  to  ^^^f  -  ^^^^^,^3^  ^  whooping 


THE  RESCUE  37, 

sidered  as  their  benefactress.  The  youne  officer 
who  was  possessed  of  sufficient  bravery  to  ™ 
him  with  credit  through  the  ordinary  affairs  of  mi 
now  felt  ashamed  of  the  cowardice  with  whkh  he 
had  acted,  and  this  shame  added  to  his  fuiy  against 
the  authors  of  the  rescue.  'igamsc 

anH  tli^^Lw  ^'"'^^^'  f""^  ^^^  J^'y-  t'le  constables 
t^n  Lh  f  ^iri-^"*^  ^J^^  P^°P'^  of  SaJem  at  large, 
Lir.^fJ°^  *^«*^^  ^P«  f°^«o"en  Mistress  de 
Lacey  and  her  affairs,  their  relief  was  so  great  that 
It  was  d^cu^t  to  stir  them  into  anger  or^mo  any 
species  of  activity.    Some  there  wei^and  amongst 

tJrv^f,,^''^^ -^^  f^l  *^°  judges-who  weJ^  glad 
to  have  the  affair  of  the  reputed  witch  taken  out  of 

tZ^'^'^fA^°l^^%^^^^  **^^t  h^'-  trial  and  coS- 
or  u^nT^,^'^^''^*  ^"i  Uttle  credit  upon  themselves 
«L?nT  ^^^^i^^-  ^<i  that  proof  of  actual  ill-doing 
upon  her  part  was  wanting.    There  were  others  who 
believed  that  the  whole  scene  in  the  courtroom  was 
TJ^T^  °L*"  senses,  specially  planned  ^d  ^r^ 
ned  out  by  the  witch  who  took  that  means  of  dis- 
ap^nng.     Vainly  did  the  man  most  interested 
rage  and  storm,  crying  out  against  the  escaped 
donTt!,'  ^^  i? *f  "^  ^'  ^^^'^  '^^  »"i"ry  thatTas 
t^Z.X    ^^  '"  ^fT^'  ^""^  ^  Salem  in  par- 
th«  c    «^  *5^  ^°^^'  °f  ^^^  E^»'  0"e,  manifested  in 
the  speUs  of  sorcery     The  Town  Council  and  th« 
othei^  were  not  at  aU  inspired  by  these  arguments 
to  attempt  the  recapture  of  so  dangerous  a  ch^cter 
as  the  sorceress    Angry  as  they  might  be  at  her  ^ 
appearance,  and  at  the  possibility  that  a  trick 
hmnan  or  preternatural,  had  been  played  upon  a 
^ye  and  reverend  a^mbly,  they  felt  no  partkl? 
an^ety  to  bnng  her  back  into  their  midst     Surely 
It  was  better  that  she  had  gone  before  worse  haj^ 


.    *,  !■ 


*.d.H 


371    GERALD  de  LACEVS  DAUGHTER 

pened,  if  reaUy  she  had  been  a  witch  with  power  to 
^irit  herself  away.  If  she  were  not  a  witch,  they 
were  rid  of  the  responsibility  of  condemning  or  ac- 

^*AU^t,^Captain  Prosser  Williams  was  compelled 
to  reveal  his  own  idertity  and  to  threaten  them  with 
the  severe  displeasure  of  Lord  Bellomont  for  having 
permitted  the  escape  of  both  father  and  daughter, 
whTwerefugitives7rom  New  York.  He  des«ibed 
them  as  dai  gerous  Papists,  consorters  with  Jesuits 
and  suborners  of  the  Indian  tribes.  He  urged  upor 
them  that,  if  they  had  for  a  moment  escaped  an 
Indian  foray,  the  tribes  now  so  peaceful  would  very 
possibly  be  incited  against  them,  since  such  dangerous 
demies  of  the  King's  Majesty  and  the  Protestant 
religion  were  at  large. 

It  was  by  arguments  such  as  these  that  the  en- 
raged and  disappointed  officer  induced  a  sturdy  band 
of  Puritans  to  take  horse  and  nde  forth  from  the 
town  in  hot  pursuit  of  the  fugitives.  But  such  haste 
as  they  made  was  not  sufficient  for  Captain  Prosser 
Williams,  who  feverislJy  spurred  on,  unpelled  by 
the  double  motive  of  love  and  revenge.  Both  were 
now  stronger  than  ever  within  him,  and,  as  he  went 
he  sought  everywhere  for  some  trace  which  should 
convince  him  that  the  pursuers  were  upon  the  right 

"^  When  the  cavalcade  reached  the  deserted  house 
of  the  de  Laceys,  the  morning  sun  was  shining  tuii 
upon  it  Prosser  WilUams  had  it  exanuned  only  to 
find  that  Mr.  de  Lacey  too  was  missing.  Continmng 
their  pursuit  along  the  turnpike  road,  which,  accord- 
ing to  a  number  of  witnesses,  had  been  taken  by 
some  savages,  the  hursemen  made  their  way  by 
glade  and  forest  until  they  finally  came  to  a  deserted 


M, 


i 

THE  RESCUE  ^^^ 

it^nJX  SeSiS^  '""^  -"''^ht  lent 

suggested  it  as  a  pSKiHn''  ^r'''  °^  '^^  «?«* 

ing  from  his  hoL^  cSaiS  WnP'^"''-    ^''^^■ 

the  premises  as  a  huntiSXmihTJf  ""'I'*  ^^""^ 
could  find  no  trace  of  TE   ^  might  have  done,  but 

tuteness,  tutmost£t^iTT^\u^'^^  ^1  W«  as- 
thought  of  diTturbinf  ?^  f  1,''^  *?^  P"'"^"^'^  never 
which  covered  the  wel!  T>ffT  '^7i  ^""^  twigs 
the  cast-off  disS^s  of  tl^T  >^  "^""^^  ^^^^  fo"n<l 
thus  have  conS  h?mi?f  ""^^'T'  ^^  ^^^  <^o"'d 

«<!  h.  to.;  „o,  s.r'j  "Lir^r  S'o^""a 

word  have  been  on  /i,„vi,i  ^f^f^;-  ^or  how  could 
the  suspicions  aldnTtlS^  T'f^'''  ^^^  York  of 
airest?  He  thouSof  pfetS^S  f  T^^  1"*^  ^^' 
of  the  Van  Cortl^dt  f.^j?  ^chuy  er  and  others 
to  the  pbt  S  he  6^^  f  possible  accessories 
though  of  lateT  w    .  ™'*^'^  ^^^P*^"  Ferrers, 

thatthat  officer  waslwr*?  "°"^"^«  ^^^^ 
outlaw.  "°  '°"Sei-  interested  in  the  fair 


:,:.:m  'I 


:i 


I 


CHAPTER  IX 


A  REUNION 


T-NFqPITE  her  bewilderment,  which  made  her 
Dfani  that  die  was  dreaming,  and  with  a  sense 

oTrerS^d  security  that  ^X""'^ ^°i^'JZl^i 
Vnvpd  Evelvn  was  borne  through  the  streets  oi 
S^em  and  out  into  the  cool  fragrant  air  of  the  autumn 
n£t    Pre^ntly,  she  asked  in  the  same  breathless 

whisper: 

"My  father?" 

"He  is  safe,  and  you  will  see  him  soon. 

::^/aSt£s,  your  father.  Pieter  Sch^ler 
nnd  mvself  with  about  a  half  a  dozen  from  the  en- 
SmpS'  who  have  returned  there  quite  peace- 

^^At'L  short  disu  nee  from  the  town  ^hey^ere  met 
by  a  fig^e.  l^f^^,jJ°TelSrs£^eT^^^^^ 

nSorsrshe  rode  on  vrith  Captain  Ferrers   while 

Pleter  Schuyler  were  to  meet  them,     ihat  was  an 


A  REUNION  375 

yet  vocal  with  the  soft  whispering  of  trees  anH  th^ 
twittenng  of  birds,  disturbed  in  therrnests  the  two 
P^  ""•/"P'^jnely  conscious  of  each  other's  pS 
tTr.'^^u^L'^^  ^"^  that  united  them     In^tfie 
hearts  of  both  was  the  f  uU  knowledge  of  their  mut  Jmt 

Z;.^^/  '*r r  ^"'^  "°r«  intend  by  aKt  had 
bSEvefJ:?  the  vicissitudes  that  might  stHl  he 
S  c^ch^ihJ^^^  ^?^^^  ^^^  l^^t  the  wind 
Mttyt  Sle^i-err-B-"dtT^^^^ 

would  Captdn  Fem'W  have  forad  i™  a..S 

My  love,  my  dear  love!" 
th^^u^^]"^  swelling  with  love  and  pitv  for  all 

ing  ?h^r^°  fe't^- Sr.^'  E^'-^.  and  know- 
caS'&ai^pfJ'"^,^  ™^t'^  '"  the  leaves  that 
smiled  at  hir^Jc^^l^  i      ■      ^^^  "'^^t  mstant  he 

■smmtmm 


I; 
■III 


1      *  h 


m    ■ 


'-sj'ijl 


:' M    I 


m 


M:'^:..% 


''•Ti  #"'i 


376    GERALD  PB  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

of  their  hearts  and  the  happing  £ifompS 
enced  in  being  on^^'J^'fJ^LvSu  lingered  a  little 
rp-rotiS  fhr^-of^SuS  wh^^h  they  had 

rers,  drawing  a  ^eep  breath, ^tertnP^^,. 
P^J^SU'l^rr^iS/'  answered  Evelyn 
simply.  „  ^ j^  Captain  Ferrers. 

..uS  h.^?^  pis  .o«  •"">'»—•"* 

er  in  meeting  or  m  parting.    But  woras  ar 
%h^:gr^hP^rhand-i^^.^^^^^^^^ 

simply  part  o^   ^e  P^^'^on  thl^^^^^^^     though  the 
lest  pursuers  might  oe  upon  u  ^^  ^^g 

building  stood  away  i^^-^J^\^ll,,  lights,  and 
surrounded  by  trees,     vvm"  ^arefuUv  screened 

^  *^'^  ^^^^f  oSvatn  b^ciothTS  over  the 
from  possible  observation  oy  awaitmg 

window.     Evelyn  j^'^'^^^^.^X^tastlnt  she  was  in 

moments  all  that  ^ney  na  ^  j^  ^  ^jjey  should 

in  which  they  stood.  I^^f'S  till  morning,  and, 
take  the  risk,  of  '^inaimng  there  tm  m  k^^^^ 
at  the  first  hint  of  dawn-  startupon  ^.^^^^^ 

As  if  by  magic  appeared  the  smiung  lacc 


A  REUNION  J 

S;?^*  of  whSlhS^-    S''^P«'vided  the  savory 
formed  of  Se  baes  IT^JJ^'^  extempore  pillows 

it  was  some  tk^e  befo  "  «-    ^''*^  ''^-    °"* 

dined  to  tear  tt,em^?v«  .w    ^**'^  P^^^  ^^'^  in- 

his  personal  experiences  °"^  ^^^  *°  '^'^te 

folMhemThitt'teuC'd  J^"'".'  -'^^  ^^'^ 
of  the  night  to  Euarf'i^Lf  ''""•"«  *^^  ^^t^hes 
all  calculated  wfthtolS     ^JH^^"^-    They  had 

».ould  last  duX  the  ni^hf  ^-    ^'^tJ^d'ans,  which 
a  isurance  of^ftv  u^tn  h'  "'^'^t.*^^'?  '^^"''^  ^e  no 
the  terror,  the  excitement      ^i'^^*'  ■  *^^  confusion, 
organizing  areSn/^^'^h^^'^^^  impossibility  of 
and  the  ve^Sof  ^h^t^^^'  ^^"^^  ^^^  ^°">es 
ened  by  an  uns^In  anH   tn  .v,  "'P^°P'^  ^^^  t^^^^at- 
a  formidable  f(^On£:  ILa^  ™tg"jatio„  at  least, 
g-oundlessness  of  ?uch  ^ll^^'lf'  ^"^  ^l''^"  'he 
Ir^ised  that  the  search  wo-^S'  >^7^"-'   they  sur- 
prosecuted  to  discover  T^a       *''"°'*  certainly  be 
and  punish  the  au?ho^  of  tr.fP*"'"  .^he  prisoner 
Especially  did  the^n.m  nf  ^^^^^^nsational  rescue. 
the^ig^nSt  acS^f  r  "f  •'^'i^'  ^"'"^'^  *hat 
would  be  exerted  to  sn-^f^^P'^'"  ^'^^'"  Williams 

given  ^  pt? .>f  ^    ^/°°'"'  *°  which  the  fire  had 


ir  I 

■i'.' 


y 


j^    GERALD  »«  LACEVS  DAUGHTER 

d,  Vri«.  but  by  her  h»^<l^  Th^  3Si^°Td 
flown  into  a  rage  and  somiclly  oera  ^re 

srr^s=T^»H^ri.^br£ 

good-wiU  toward  her  ff^^f-.^JJ^Jf^ost  affected  to 
!he  fashion  i«  ^^e  «rcles  wl^ch  he  m^t  ^^^  ^^^^^ 

admire  the  girl,  and  he  '?'5?'i\°^^  same 

be  any  ^^^J^^^^^V  "^f  th^  PoS  'evektions  that 
SS  r^de:^'lS^^  de&  and  his  daughter 


"Si     i 


il    1 


A  REUNION  3^^ 

because  of  transaS  ^th  ?r'*?°"u*^"»  ''  *«« 
his  kind  thatTh^fXrro!?i2!^*>***  <»•  some  of 
Manhattan.  ^^  he  h^"»^  ^'^"^  '°  "^  ^~'" 
concerning  the  gWb^t  hJ  1?  "'^^  •*'^'"  "^°" 
wholly  diLnnected  S  Mr  S^'T'  ^  .'''*""  '"  «« 
exile.  °  ^^^  **'•  de  La>  jy's  voluntary 

Mynheer  had  hastened  to  Der  HnV.  u  . 
hoped  to  encounter  Captain  Fe^Jpn^'if"'  ^^ 
anxious  to  make  him«.if  o„  ^^"^'^-  For  he  was 
in  a  cautious  wL^Sort.  P™"""«nt  ^^  Possible 
lease.  But  that^venSe  l^i?  ^^T  ^^^'y"'^  ^- 
visit  the  tavern  noTwL  h?tn  1!"  /^"5"  '^'^  "^t 
hall.  In  fact,  ii  tranr,!^^^  M  J't  ^°^'"^  ^*  ^hite- 
the  Breuklyn  shore  hv'^^/''**  ^^  ^^^  'tossed  to 
for  His  Ex'Sllency.%iynh!e7r  °^"^/  *'"^'"^«^ 
himself  to  Lady  Bellomonf  ?n^^''^°'"*"«'y  ^'ook 

card  was  granted  an  fnter^ew  %^"^i"«  '"  *»'« 
merchant  had  noteH  M«^  r  T  ,.  •  .  "^  *'^^  astute 
Mistress  Evelyn    and  wa,    ladyship's  interest   in 

doing  himself  Lwtuas  the  vn^PTi"  '^^''  ^^  ^^ 

^-iT^^'r^^?  TnlhrirTS^  '  ^^""'^  ''^ 

dar^d  that  she  wSTos^d^ytt^eSin  !t  f^' 
Colonial,  and  would  take  ^{,1*  ""crested  m  the  fair 
to  assist  her.  ImrnedSeivon  t.,  ^^f  ^^'^  P°^»"e 
Wrs,  Lady  fiZSLt  f?rh?m"™  .''f  Captain 
tenible  news  which  MvnhTll  ^l\r^  ^  '^P*"^  t^e 
and  the  truth  of  wLh  aT„o^"d"u'bted'""^'* 
inteStXTou'.^^^  ""^^  -yha?Sf1iave  an 
th-^1^1^:JiS=er  conveyed 


.!  !  'im 


380    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

"There  is  nothing  to  be  said  here."  my  Udy 
added,  indicating  by  a  slight  gesture  H«  ExceUcn^ 
whom  they  could  preceive  through  the  window 
wSg  with  arms  behind  his  back  on  the  Bowhng 

reen  She  then  proceeded  to  mform  hm  as  con- 
cisely  as  possible  of  what  had  taken  place  m  SaleiiL 

clptairPeners.  who  had  turned  from  red  to 
pale  and  from  pale  to  red  agam  as  he  heard  these 
dreadful  tidings,  waited  in  an  agony  of  mjpatience 
FoTwhat  else  it  might  seem  good  to  Her  Ladyship 

*°'^t  is  my  wish."  she  cried,  "that  this  lovely  maid 
be  rescued  from  the  dreadful  position  in  which  she 
hls^  placed.  I  am  ready  to  do  anything  m  my 
wweTbut  alaclc!  I  fear  that  my  influence,  openly 
Sid  at  the  present  moment,  might  work  her 
Sw  iU  But  with  you  it  is  different.  Whether 
k  be  true  or  no.  as  some  men  say.  that  you  love  the 
m^.  at  least  the  mstinct  of  humanity  will  urge  you 
to  go  to  her  help."  .  ,,   <-,„„^„;_ 

"I  shall  ask  for  leave  this  mstant.  Captain 
Ferrers  cried,  making  a  movement  towards  the  door. 

BuTaT  imperious  gesture  from  Lady  Bellomont 

^nllS^rdinary  way  it  would  be  .refused."  she 
•  said,  "since.  Captain  Prosser  WiUiams  is  also  absent. 
I  shkll  endeavor  to  obtain  leave  for  you  and  also  the 
recall  of  Prosser  Williams,  who,  I  opine,  is  expected 
h«e  soon  But  I  must  ask  it  upon  some  frivolous 
nrete^when  His  Excellency  is  in  the  right  humor. 
C  pretext,  in  truth,  would  be  better  than  the  ti^e 
onZ  It  is  only  in  the  last  extrem-ty,  and  if  all 
eke  fails,  that  I  shall  make  appeal  to  my  husband 
on  behalf  of  the  maid."  .      ,     ...  _ 

Clptain  Ferrers  next  took  his  way  to  the  dwelling 


A  REUNION  j8, 

Prosser  Williams    nor  C>-  ^''^^^  ^^  "«'  seen 
they  had^Sie  to  the^"  ',"  ?"y  .^*y  '""lested" 

some  famaiarity  3  tZ  T  '  ^'^^^'"  ''^'^  K«ned 
which  was  W  trLvp%f  *^^  *"''  "^  en^rons. 

and  caution,  he  had  cs^^H^k   '*'"'"•'"*'' secrecy 
never  come  under  the  noH^l''f'*^"''°"'  ^^^l  had 
Pieter  immediate^  consented ^n^^'?'*'  ^^'^'^s- 
Salem  in  company  w"th  r,nf  *1?*  """^  ""^^  ^O' 
tween  them,  in  the  i^^nL^  P**i"  Z^"^"-  and  be- 
evolved  the  San  Xrf.  ^Il^r!!  °^  '^^t  ""o-nent.  was 
upon  which  £  much  deU^S     An  ^'^'^^^  and 
ference  with  Madam  ^n  7?'  .,?''  *  '^asty  con- 
details  were  a^ied^o\h.ir  °''-'-"'^,*'   ^^^  ^"^her 
Jumbo  should  accompany    hem  ?"^'  ^^'""^  "'^t 
horses,  and  Elsa    eS.*''!,'^,-}"  a^«^t  wUh  j,e 
by  stage  to  Bostin  i^  2le  hT^  ^""^^  procee-! 
needed.  *^^  "^"^  services  should  I.u 

Pieter  Schuyler  for  Salem  ?^'  '^^  ^'"^  **'!» 
tination,  they  had  deteu^w^  '^''^'''^  ^h"*"  'les- 
avoid  oiDser^Son  and  h«H  °^^  .'  "^'^  '°^^  ^ 
the  deserted  hou^'in  Se  w^Jds"  fc^  ^'°r  "P°" 
to  examine  it,  before  deHnl^  «  u^  ^^  stepped 
plans.  To  their  iement^.^"^'^'  °?  **»«''  f"t"'e 
opened  and  a  mln^amll  ?^^  ^^^  \^  ^"'Idenly 
like  a  Puritan  and  m,E^      'J'^  threshold,  habited 

down  over  Ws  eyts  "?nllunt.'' -."^irV^  ^^'  ^^'^^ 
two  young  men  haH  i"^°'"ntan]y  the  hands  of  the 

to  th'eir  4S'ement  the^'miV^''"  '"^t^"^'  ^^e"! 
-ddenly  revealThii -^  rKlX^"^ 


'HI 


I, ! 


%Ili 


38.    GERALD  de  LACEVS  DAUGHTER 

Evelyn's  arrest,  l™^^?^ J^7.^fiaw  wo,^d^^^^ 

pnson.   m  ms  Wf^y^.°^  ■    |,:_  anxiety  to  get  news 

if -it'  Slly  hSg  leSTthe  'presence 
of  Evelyn.    Finally,  navms  inveterate  enemy 

of  Prosser  WiUiams  and  that  that  inv  ^^^^ 

was  hot  upon  his  tr^'^^,  he  had  lef^  ^^tow  ^^ 

taken  temporary  ^helter  in  this  de^rte    P       ^     .^ 
was  fully  resoyed  to  ^"^e  \blow  tor    ^j^^^ 

freedom,  even  if  it  ^^^'l'°  ^^g-h^^,  where  the 
she  was  on  the  way  ^o  the  meetmg  »»      -^^  j^^^if. 

easy  to  proem,  to"  *?»  S^X^.    M««i. 


5'  '  i 


A  REUNION  383 

perienced  some  hours  of  re^l  1,1^^-^  ^^^  ^J"^  ^'^- 
company  of  her  fafhL    1,      1    "^PP'"es&.     In  the 

with  the  minor  s^nse'fwJn'r'  ^""^  ^^'  f^end, 
the  presence  thereof  t1?njf"^\"^.^"S^°d«'ed  by 

^^erl!Jr,r^^^^  her  a  luJnot 

whiSr^re  ulcereSSly  ^c^n'"?^  '"f  ^  *^«"--. 
weU  and  covered  uTwhL""^.^*^  *°  ^  <^sused 
also  considered  befteTthltTh!  ^"1  *"?>•  '*  ^^« 
separate;  Evelyn  wth  ^^'^'^^  --"^  presently 
the  two  gentSn  TritT,  T  ^u^^'  ^°,^^  «"«  "'ad, 
was  to  4umTy  stSi'S!^„^°*?'  f''^^  ^W 
and  thence  back  to  Sat^^n  °  V/ A^^''  .""°"' 
to  pass  across  the  Srs  of  pinl  T*'"^^' '^^f*^ 
was  outside  Ix)rdBellomon?c-    f^^nfylvania,  which 

to  MarylanST  where  t^evS^^*^'"^'  ^"'^^'^^''^^ 
r.sp:te?;hough  i^wlsS  oSnTallZt  f^^' 
stay  must  necessarilv  he.  k^- T    •  ^'^  '^"^*  *beir 

rife^m  that  o^atre'd^  KSXT'°"  "" 

and  Ferret  a  Wabk%r*'l  ^emiit^'j;" 
rendmg  to  feel  that  tt,o  1  ^"  f.  ,^enied  heart- 
united  them  was  Foweiess  to  nJ:*"'?..^  ^*™"«Iy 
of  separation.  ForTn  instinfP^  "*  ^^^^  ^"g^^h 
accident  or  desig^    tw  ^,  ^P^'^^'  whether  by 

girl  was  clLS'lll'hX^r'aSs^The  ^  *^^ 
self  by  an  eLrt,  alVS^^^  X T^c^ 


(■ 


ll 


If: 


384    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

^"^^rC;  noble  Pieter."  said  Evelyn,  -how 
Isl^4s1^ouall!    God  alone  can  repay  you  for 

-MLS  we^tL  last  words  that  he  ^  Cgtau, 

Taty  w^S  Sat,  and  they  were  in  another  m- 
stant  out  of  sight  and  hearing. 


CHAPTER  X 

A    COUNTERPLOT 

T^Jlt^"?[L'!r''«d  '^^  Colony  of  Maiyland 
SdSf^  °'  ■""  "■*«  '"ft  might  XSe 


Mhd 


'1fll 


^  'Wit 


1  1 


386    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

seaman,  Rogers,  was  captain.  Once  on  board  tihe 
Sntine.  I  safe  passafe  to  the  Spanish  dominions 
in  the  south  was  assured,  where  they  nught  hope 
for  at  least  a  temporary  security  until  a  luU  in  the 
storm  of  persecution  should  enable  them  to  return 

*°Meanwhae'.  counterplotting  had  been  going  on  in 
Manhattan,  and  Vrow  de  Vries  agaan  appeared  as 
the  evil  genius.  The  autumn  winds  were  laying 
waste  thi  garden  which  Evelyn  had  so  carefully 
Tended,  and  blighting  with  its  chilly  breath  the 
foliage  of  those  splendid  trees  of  Manhattan,  when 
Captain  Prosser  Williams  stood  once  more  within 
the  luxurious  apartment  which  Vrow  de  Vnes  doim- 
nated  from  her  chair.  He  ^^s^t^^g/P.  ^^f  ^'S 
impatiently,  glancing  from  the  lean,  dark  figure  of 
Mynheer  Lai^ens,  who  had  also  been  smnmoned  to 
the  conference,  to  the  Uving  antithesis  offered  by  the 
mistress  of  the  house.  .  „,„e»r,f 

It  irked  Captain  Williams  much,  in  his  present 
mood  of  fiery  impatience,  to  have  thus  to  propitiate 
his  repulsive  and  uninteresting  hos1;ess.  The  latter 
watched  him  out  of  her  dull  eyes,  in  which  smojd- 
dered  a  fire  of  resentment,  as  the  igh  she  had  been 
quick  to  read  his  thoughts.  She  purposely  continued 
her  conversation  with  her  other  guest  untu  the 
young  officer's  impatience  had  reached  its  hmit 

"Ad  what,"  he  «aid  at  last,  "is  this  notable  in- 
telligence which  you  so  urgently  invited  m-,  to  hew  ^ 

"If  you  will  but  seat  yourself,"  the  woman  said, 
"I  will  make  known  to  you  such  late  news  as  has 

'^Ttoe'^'^as  a  hint  of  dryness  in  her  t«ne.  whkh 
served  as  a  warning  to  her  fell°w-c°nsp""^*°5;  ,?^^ 
complied  instantly  with  her  request,  and,  seatmg 


A  COUNTERPLOT 


is  w'Sja  "C  T  °'  *^^  ^^--'--^  chairs 
prepared  to  £  V^iVv  ^""/  *?^  "^-  h« 
a  letter,  read  Jt  in  a  thick  i*,!!'  ^'r'^.  enfolding 
sounded  as  though  ht  J^^^-U  ^"""""^  voice,  which 
peded  hefutSce  Thf i  T"'  ^^"•'■dupois  im- 
proved a  thomlTihJfl!  t'^\^?^'^  ""^  ^^^^  epistle 
For  it  fitted"™^  tSfi.lf'  ^{  ??Pt^'n  Williams, 
brooding  thoughS^  STdTorHM*''  ^''-  T"  ^'•'^  ^^ 

toS^dMr  i?  r„"^  hf  Klutd^  the 
pursuing  therordina^'T*  .^"^^PP^nts  were 
hostile  intenrwha2ve7ar,7^V°"?  ^*^°"'  ^y 
ranee  of  the  latlattemntfh    professmg  utter  igno- 

including  a  coS£Ti\ef  oTthe 'f  "'''^''^'f ' 
were  of  opinion  that  tv,^  wl  1  "®  townspeople, 
illusion  of  the  senses  cLTak  ''T''^'"'^  ^^«  an 
the  reputed  Wit^hTndZ  •''^  ^^^.  ^^  P^^^^  ^^ 
sumably  she  was  far^l*^  sp-nts  with  whom  pre- 

mind  with  his  demrt,?rt  ^f  had  vanished  from  his 
intimately  conSd^ha^'^MfsS'  'd?  t  "^^ 
nends  m  Manhattan  were  at  fhe  bottom  of  tS' 

Sem^S^'^Sia-^S^l 


t' 


,11' 


il 


!  .  ^.1 


:(i 


n  . '  [•'■i'. 


3ft8    GERALD  DE  LACEVS  DAUGHTER 
tened  to  the  recital.   He  could  not  refrain  from  say- 
ine  in  an  obviously  sneering  tone:  ,.„v™.u»" 

"Are  vou  also,  Mynheer.  abeUever  in  witchcraf^' 
L^Kce  flushed  at  the  taunt,  but  he  answered 

^^"USee  things  occur  which  are  beyond  our  hu- 

fere  in  their  behalf  ?" 

^SKTmay'te  in  their  deeds,  these  Pa- 
pists "ttid!"  but  ^at  least  they  have  the  wit  to 

SSSSSS.SSI1 

SKd  to  Mwl»»4  whe™  they  «2  too«n  «, 
consort  with  Jesuits  and  other  Papists.  A^  it 
S^  Wed  about  that  a  ?°"»8.^^"''°,^ 

^!>  «1l  He  knew  nothing  further,  save  that  the 
oasSgers  wer^5"obably  t^  be  put  aboard  some  ves- 
KSfor  overseas  or  for  a  southerly  port 

3i.or=':h:^.rjJf5*£sr|| 


A  COUNTERPLOT  jg, 

lUa^V^'df  U"  ^^  ^*  r'-«-'-<^d  chair. 

wMch  it  Lh i^n  '""^^^d  with  the  obstacles  by 
even  ,f  ,t  were  .n  anger  or  contempt.    He  forgot 


"''it 

4 


iili 


i'H 


ff.ji 


390    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 
Vrow  de  Vries,  who  was  watching  him  curiously. 
LTH^nricus  Laurens,  who   however  w^dn^y 
concerned  at  the  moment  with  the  thought  of  what 
S^St  be  taken  to  bring  these  two  fugitives  to 

^"S  oallor  of  Prosser  Williams'  face  was  heightened 
yJ^oiSsoiZu,  red  color  in  either  cheek     His 
^eTriSd  with  a  baleful  fire,  and  his  breath 
^e&and^arp.    He  dared  not  truBthmseM 
to  soeak.    The  conflict  of  emotions  was  too  strong. 
Sid^ffeared  that  it  would  become  too  painfuUy 
e^^ent  to  the  eyes  that  were  watching  hun.    He 
rSed  Slider!  J?^  however,  to  reply  to  the  questions 
Snenricus  Laurens  was  already  putting,  as  to 
whai  should  be  done  in  the  present  ^^^S^f^'.H! 
Iwo  men  conversed  together  purposely  in  low  tones 
Sw,^  were  not  always  audible  to  their  singular 
hostess,  who  observed  them  with  a  smile  o.  pure 
i^tttff     TTnr  die  knf w  that  she  had  set  in  motion 
Stover  Sn^s  of  destruction  they  might  choo^ 
wnaiever  eugii         .^eed  between  the  confederates 
SrSrse^i  ofSiSatch  should  te  c.n«i 
SS  r*dS"n.  sine  P»sso  WiUtos  hdd  to»» 

^^clotain  Prosser  Williams,  while  apparently  taking 
Mvffi  L^u^ns  into  his  confidence,  concealed 
£f hto  Ws  ulterior  plans  for  obtaining  possession 


A  COUNTERPLOT 


^ould  obtain  from  I^rdi'er""''  ^^ose  releal^Te 
of  marriage  with  htaSlf   "r°"'.T '"'^ '^"dition 
young  Colonial  ODoosTtrv      u-  '"  *^e  case  of  the 
estant  cause  was  Si       '    I'  ^^^'  ^°'-  the  Prot 
Taking  leave  wfth  sS>t  L^  ""^^  ^°'  ^'^^h  motive! 
the  two  humed  Sr't'^^^SeT  °^  ^••''-  de  vS 
where  Greatbatch  w^Sret^%"'°i^''"''lle 
his  vessel  was  in  nort     T-if        '^  ^°"nd  whenever 
to  find  him  thLre^°l  afc'".^.^  ^rtunate  as 
blowing  outside,  the  tav^r?^  *'""'"«  ^'nd  was 
'nviting.  and  Greatba  ch  waf ''^^^'"^'^  Particularfy 
more  than  his  usual  reS  wf  n  !4'°^'"«.  ^>*h  even 
rum.  His  purple  face  I?ame  and  hf?"  °^  Barbadoes 
he  was  drinking  swpaWn™  ^  "'^  t°"g"e  loosened 
two  young  mel'eSd  fhelo^'^^ii"^  -^^^n "he 
uttered   public   denunciat  nn/  T^u-^^  "«  longer 
smceProsserWiUiamsXI   "     o-    "''   Excellenfy' 
But    since  grumblingwas  hk  .""  "P°"  ^^'^  g"ard 
usually  found  some  pretext  for  fr^"'^  P^''^^-  he 
then  ,t  was  directeragahist  th'^''^'"'^' ^"d  just 
dandies  who  were  sent  out  bt  th^\^°""S  ^°P^-  ^"d 
to  prey  upon  the  coCes  i„  <f ''°'"f  S°^<^™'nent 
traders  i„  particular     T'oi.h^'r"^  ^"'^  ^^onest 
names,  those  present  were  S.^  "^eptioned  no 
of  his  animadversions  7n^  Quite  aware  of  the  object 
faces  as  the  do^r  opened  ^n'*"!,^' P'^^^^  "^e^- their 
young  fop  whom  he  e^v^dentlv  haH^"'  '^^  P^^'-^"'^ 

As  Captain  Prosser  wS   .u  '"  ""'"d. 
^cause  of  the  heat[„Srs  "^f  ^'^^  ^^''^^  ^'^  oloak 
ceded  that  he  merited  the' title^'^H^'^'^^.^''^  ^on- 
-t  was  as  gaudy  in  colSn^ll^t  t^Sin^S-- 


'  i  •' 


392    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

on  the  shoulder  and  exclaiming: 
"Well,  old  sea-dog.  dnnking  the  ocean  ary  «. 

"'Se'two  young  men  then  seated  theniselves  at  , 

Ce  led  these  two  to  seek  him  just  then^^Je  f ouna 
velopments  and  that  his  wite  was^  ^ 


A  COUNTERPLOT 


K^-uLoTS-^a  ''-  ^''-™-  ^"  '^  fit  of 
whar„ew^&4\^^SP«^  "^'^  '^"«-  wondered 

planning;  whJSSXy^^reSin '"•'"'«''*> 
moment,  or  abrut  fn  »„„       ^""P'y  passing  an  idle 

action  with  thri£,I?^T '"  ?fT  ^^'^y  *'^"«- 
time,  but  as  othm  ^rf  »oi^f  ^^^'^  *  considerable 
in  whom  he  waHnS^  Kh"-"^  ^V*'^  three 
he  strolled  out  at  Sf^r  ^ir^''  "?".^  °^  stirring. 
But  he  did  not  go  vl,i7ar    ie^r'^'  good.„igh?. 
of  his  cloak,  and  gatWed  ,>  .i!>^T  "P  ^^^  «'"«'' 
protection  against  ?heWHni  '^'^^^  ^bout  him  as  a 
upaposition^on  theothersW.nrt1;  '"^''^  ^^  "^^ 
Greatbatch  was  the  last  to  1™  *t^  ^^**  ^'"'-    " 
termined  to  have  a  wLh  i^.^.r^^^y^^'"  '^as  de- 
what  was  afoot   For  hlhad  ^L^r""  r'^i"^  °«t 
action  in  leanin/over  fn  wV  ^  ^^P*^"  ^»ll>ams' 

and  had  sSiX  wj"^^;  ^  "^^  ^"S^'er. 


^:!l^ 


n..)' 


J'i  tj 


I       I 


CHAPTER  XI 

AN  BAVBSDROPPER  CAUGHT 

^ROWING  i'"P^t'«"\rMvS^ee?-ent''S^ 
Cj  coldness  of   t^e    "ight.   Mynheer  J 

J^sly  over  co  themndow  and  for  a  «„^g^^  ^jj  ^^^^ 

peered  into  the^^o^"    ««^^^%„g'men  had  bent 
S^er  guests  had  gone,  ^^e  *woy°u  g^^  ^^^^  ^, 

their  heads  together     ^"^  ^^'^  j  importance  was 

sured  that  ^^^^^^^  °lj^^  il  cm\d  be  ^^  \ 
under  discussion.    He  wonde;^'  ^^^        j^^^ 

the  de  I^ceys  andhe  was  mo^^^^^  ^^  ^       ^^  h 

S>sHion°on  £:%X  «de  of  the  great  tree  and 

-lrin.edalongti..^uthew^^^-^^^^ 

by  seeing  the  y°"«e°^^^'tron  while  tl^  smuggler 
f^rth.  still  in  close  conve«atu,n  J  ^^^^^^^ 

remained   withm  J^^^^l^^  a  corner  and  vanish 
move  until  he  had  seen  them  turn  a  ^^  ^^^  ^^^ 

from  sight     Then  he  stok  ^autwu^^    ^^^^^ 
and  entered,    Gjeatbatch  ^^o^^  •       ^^3  now  in  a 
the  rum  quite  steadier  all  *«  7J^„  ^f .^ward  on  h.s 
drowsy  state,    "is  heaa  na  ^^^  g^^e  an 

S' A  «i:Sr  ss'^s  sSw|. 


AN  EAVESDROPPER  CAUGHT       395 

M  nea^^wate  fl^  h?,\-^**''  ^'^  ^°°^  himself 

conversation  as  Ch  th-  ,  '    "'  ^°nUmed  the 
present.  ^*"  "**'  y°""8  men  were  stUl 

M^h£'':^h'oST^'S 'Vf  .t^'^p  "«-"•  -"d 

voice  should  cau^Wm  to  ?f«l^V''^  ■'""'"^  °^  h« 
prodded  him  ?o^  on        ""^  ^''  '°'''^^'  ««"«/ 

yo;'hLrt'-s"s^7on"c1U°:;.^o^ih?Sr  ^""^^-  '^ 

me  to  do  before     But  ^f  T  f»u    i?*^''  i^  ^^^  ^^ 
witch  or  no^tch  Panit/       ^^  '?^'  °^  ^^^  sloop, 

Uu.„s  is  to  baC  me  against^  Cs."  i:r^-;^(tZ 

afti/Wu^rhe^cLMt^-J^ll^^ 
The  man  continued  to  mutter   hnV  k:/\  n    v 

at  any  moment  L°fJ.  ^u    ?'    ''^^  """«  ^^^^  was  due 

alrea/y^rttruVE^^trtirC^^^^^ 
Mynheer  sat  down  clo<;p  hv  fV,»  t-         ^™  ^  *='°*- 

himself  eagerlyTtSe task  2  el  !?f^  '°^"'  ^/  *^* 
bits  of  infSm^tiCn  aw'' if  ^'J'^« -^«  f'-ther 
concerted  plot  to  carrv  nff  „    •  w      ^  ^^  ^^  a 


,)' 


il 


t-' 


ri     '  I'-r  n 


M  i:i 


396    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

He  was  so  intent  in  the  endeavor  to  make  Great- 
Std^lpeak  intelUgibly.  and  so  little  apprehen^ve 
of  tihe  Wr  of  interruption  at  that  time  of^e 
nieht  that  he  took  no  precautions  and  never  per- 
ceived that  the  door  had  been  softly  opened  to  adrmt 
S  man  wrapped  in  a  cloak. .  A  hand  was  pre^ntly 
laid  on  his  shoulder,  and.  starting  ^ol^^tly.  he  fo^^d 
himself  confronted  by  Captam  Prosser  WiUiams. 
Th^  expression  on  the  latter's  face  /as  menacing 
in  the  extreme,  for  he  had  caught  MyiAeer  in  the 
act  of  putting  questions  to  Greatbatch,  which  showed 
that  he  had  l^ed  much  if  not  aU  of  the  ^eMy 
concerted  plan.    It  was  fear  of  what  the  smuggler 
Sghfrev^  to  any  chance  comer  that  had  brought 
^Itain  Prosser  WiUiams  back,  though  he  pretended 
k  was  to^k  a  lost  gauntlet.    Paler  than  ever  with 
IgThen^  stood  ey'eing  Mynheer  who  rose  slowly 
to  his  feet  and  confronted  him.    In  the  breast  of 
the  latt^were  all  sorts  of  conflicting  emotions^  m 
which  predominated  fear  of  Captain  Prosser  Will- 
Sms       Not  indeed  physical  fear,  but  the  appre- 
h^sion  of  what  revenge  he  might  take,  f?^  this  nugh 
be  of  such  a  nature  as  to  interfere  with  W  ° 
his  own  schemes  and  seriously  impair  tha,t  fabric  of 
^al  position,  the  surface  popularity  which  he  had 
b^t  uo  and  the  good  understandmg  which  he  had 
S  at'pSns  to  cultivate  with  the  Household  of 
^  BeUomont.     In  those  instants  that  elapsed 
while  the  two  stood  confrontmg  each  other  and  the 
stillness  of  the  tavern  room  was  brok«i  only  by  the 
snoring  of  Greatbatch,   Mynheer  was  chiefly  oc 
cupfed^with  devising  some  means  of  escape  from  Ins 
mortifving  and  dangerous  position,  and  thus  gave 
but  UtUe  thought  to  the  girl  whose  safety  was  im- 
perilled.   It  w^  Prosser  WiUiams  who  broke  silenc  , 


AN  EAVESDROPPER  CAUGHT       ,,, 

^^^^^^^Ztf'^t'^^-  <>-«  to  the  W 
.„  Mynheer  de  V-.nl-  •'  u    c-  -i  • 

I  find  you  here  sp^ng  'in  fr„^. '"^"^""S  tone, 
Md  contemptible  faS   hito  wW  "."^^'^^"^^ble 

a^a-V^'^^-  -  exScfi?J.^^\r.Z- 

-towhatStT]irnot"rc:V°'°  ^'^'^  --«er 
of  how  much  or  how  httle  Vh?=^^  ''^""°*  "^^  ^ware 
revealed— I  wiU  chaT J  ,      *"'?  dnj^j^g^  ^  « 

any  failure  ortheseXs'^whiT  responsibility  S 

of  the  girir'v^'Steen  To'i?  ^k*'^^  ^-^^^-es 

there  wL  an  ugJlo4i^?h.^'°f^''  ^^'^^^  and 
fuse.  I  shall  rui^  ™ha,  L  aU    V^"''  ""  ^^^  ^^ 
your  oath  to  repeat  no  word  S  ww"  •""'*  ^'^^  «>« 
heard  or  surmised,  nor  in  Iv  ^^     ^°"  '"^y  ^ave 
StmVjj''^*/-  have"S°i^r  ^-y  take  ad- 

evS:iKeTa5^Se;'-,Jr?;  ^"^-.-^^  ^^  and 
now  contended  withilSiS  ^°1  "'""'^ ''^'anced, 
throw  discretion  to  the  Ss  ^^^T^^^'^Pt^d  to 
•ams  whose  influence  nT^fftf  ^^^^  P™^^""  Will- 
Popularly  supposed  ayLli?'  K'^'  *^^°  ^as 
Mynheer  might  use  strl1.«.  tuTth^haS 


r| 


! /ij 


ifl: 


398    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

ual  caution  of  a  life  prevailed.  He  was  sony  for 
the  Eirl,  but  his  sentiment  toward  her  and  her 
fathef  was  not  sufficiently  'ob"?t.  to  balan^  the 
risk  that  he  would  run  by  antagonizing  this  powerful 
member  of  His  ExceUency's  Household      _^ 

"You  are  slow  in  making  up  your  mmd,  said  the 
young  officer  with  a  sneer,  "but  Mynheer  de  Vnes 
ha^  been  too  long  engaged  in  the  exercise,  m>^^, 
known  as  'jumping  whichever  way  the  cat  jumps. 

not  to  do  so  now."  „,t,;„v. 

Mynheer's  face  flushed  with  an  anger  to  which 
he  dared  not  give  expression,  and  Prosser  WiUiams, 
who  read  something  of  what  was  passing  m  his  com- 
panion's mind,  assumed  a  more  bullying  tone. 

"You  may  give  your  word  or  keep  it,  he  cned, 
"for  I  know  full  well  that,  since  I  have  ca^^l^*  y°" 
spying  and  striving  to  make  a  drunW  taUc  m  the 
hope  of  being  able  to  turn  th.  information  thus 
gafned  to  your  own  mean  and  contemptible  ends, 
you  will  be  afraid  to  use  that  knowledge 

"Thoueh  your  language  is  insulting  and  ungentle- 
manly  to  a  degree."  Mynheer  said,  with  an  attempt 
S  dignity.  "I  will  freely  give  you  the  promise  you 
deS.  for  I  feel  assured  that,  I  may  safely  l^ve 
the  matter  in  your  hands,  since  it  is  not.  as  I  feared, 
solely  in  those  of  this  disreputable  seaman. 

Caplain  Prosser  Williams,  looking  the  speaker 
full  in  the  face,  burst  into  an  insolent  laugh. 

"Call  him  by  his  name,  a  smuggler  and  a  pirate 
who  has  oftentimes  drawn  your  chestnuts  out  of  the 
S^"  he  said  mockingly.  "As  for  your  word  I  will 
take  it  in  default  of  better  secunty,  since  it  is  at 
yS  ^evous  peril  you  will  break  it.  And  now  to 
L  this  drunken  animal  upon  his  homeward  way 
before  his  tongue  does  further  nuschiet. 


AN  EAVESDROPPER  CAUGHT       399 

"My  best  wishes,  too,"  he  sneerpH    '•tr.,-  «    1 

'°KS"'  1"  ''^^P  you  outTmlchM..^  ^°" 
Mynheer  made  no  answer,  nor  did  he  offer  tn  ^^ 
company  the  departing  guest  as  in  o?W  ^ 
rr'^'!,^^  T"ld  have  lole  'DropSngtto  a  chTr" 
he  needed  the  gentle  admonition  of  mifle  host  that 
It  grew  late  before  he  bestirred  himsd  to  take  the 
homeward  road.     His  head  bent  in  his  hands    he 

TLdatiorinl  ""  n'.\f-li„g  ofsh^f'and 
aegraaation,  and  one  which  would  alwavs  rw^.r 
whenever  he  was  confronted  m"th  ?hTs  YnsS 
muuon  of  an  oppressive  government  as  in  hsaS 
he  designated  Prosser  Williams.  He  felt  t<^  that 
the  humiliation  of  that  evening  had  pkced^to  in 

coufdTanlT  ^'^  '^'  young  man  that  the  iTtter 
could  at  any  tune  use  against  him  this  new  weaoon 

fiS  oFpitv^'Snf  ^  "^  "^l'^'  ^'^^  ^^  hKme 
wf  I  P^  ^'^  ?^  remorse  where  his  late  neieh- 
bo^  were  concerned.  He  knew  that  a  word  sL7to 
Madam  Van  Cortlandt,  to  Pieter  sSer^r  to 
Captam  Ferrers  would  be  sufficient  to  S  ttem 


•I  11 


4 
m 


400    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

With  a  sick  loathing  at  tf  e  thought  of  his  own 
cowardice,  he  went  out  into  che  night.    It  was  star- 
less and  dark,  and  the  air  seemed  thick  and  heavy 
with  the  coming  storm.    Mynheer  walked  slowly  and 
with  a  heaviness  of  gait  such  as  he  had  never  known. 
He  felt  as  if  a  burden  had  been  suddenly  laid  upon 
his  shoulders.    Hitherto,  in  fact,  in  so  far  as  smug- 
gling operations  and  dealings  with  the  most  lawless 
of  sea-rovers  were  concerned,   he  had  walked  m 
d-Mous  ways,  and  he  had  not  been  over-nice  m  m- 
quiring  as  to  how  those  ill-gotten  goods  were  ac- 
qui'-cd.    But  in  all  those  respects  his  conduct  had 
been  no  worse  than  that  of  many  men  who  stood 
high  in  the  colony.    Consequently,  whatever  guilt 
he  had  incurred  did  not  weigh  upon  his  soul,  for 
he  was  pre-eminently  a  conventionalist.     But  to 
connive,  however  indirectly,  at  the  abduction  of  a 
young  girl  whom  he  had  long  known  and  admired, 
and  at  the  arrest  of  her  father,  was  another  matter 
altogether,  and  one  which,  if  it  ever  became  publicly 
known,  would  expose  him  to  the  condemnation  of  a 
large  section  of  his  fellow-townsmen. 

As  he  stumbled  along  in  the  darkness  the  struggle 
in  his  mind  was  intense  and  painful.  He  tried  to 
reassure  himself  with  such  specious  arguments  as 
men  very  commonly  put  forth  to  screen  their  faults. 
Captain  Prosser  Williams  had  declared  that  the 
scheme  he  had  in  view  would  redound  to  the  good 
of  all  concerned.  But  reason  and  commonsense 
alike  told  him  that  that  officer's  injunctions  to 
secrecy,  the  expression  of  his  face  and  what  he  knew 
of  his  character,  belied  this  statement.  When 
Mynheer  reached  home,  he  was  surpiised  to  see  his 
wife  still  in  her  chair  in  the  di-awing-room.  Also, 
after  her  own  dull  fashion,  she  appeared  to  be  m 


y:ij_. 


AN  EAVESDROPPER  CAUGHT       ^, 

He  answered  her  SortlvinT  ^"^>"«  i^  cau^ 
for  conversation  He  '^''.r^  ""eriy  dJGincHnfd 
mth  himself  and  hSlZJ^J^^^-^'^'S 
he  argued  that  he  had^  X'^  ?^  ^'^tion,  though 
rnm.  He  knew  that  he  Tcted  ?S*p-r  ^"*  ^bsol«!e 
have  saved  the  innoclnf  if  J,!^  ^^^^'  ^ho  would 
without  sacrifidng  hif  ^L^'prosJecS.  ^'"^  ^°"^  ^ 


^•f 


isli 


,  '■'  .■  I 

li       '  i.i'.i  ii 


Ir,    I' 


CHAPTER  XII 

•n»B  TRAGEDY   OFF    SANDY   HOOK 

T^HE  sloop  "Anna  Maria,"  having  on  board  Mr. 
T  dt  Lace^y  and  Evelyn,  arrived  gy^^^^andy 
Hook,  and  there  lay  to  in  waiting  ^^75!^^^. 
rnnJd  •'  which  was  to  receive  on  board  her  two  pas- 
™rs  Of  thl  events  which  afterwards  transpired 
vaS  accounts  were  given,  and  >t  was  oriy  the 

^  H^nr^is  L™s    two  zealous  champions  of 

SSrsTa^t^™'  The^-"-,5f/Setw 
soecial  cowers,  which  gave  the  sanction  of  the  law 
?o  whatlv^wks  done,  and  protected  the  skipper  of 

s-AsSrJi=^^|{^ 

BeUomont.  and  tough  him  m  those  of  the  Kmg^ 
Majesty,  as  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  Protestant 

^"Though  Captain  Prosser  Williams  was  not  un^ 
willing  to  be  placed  in  the  same  category  he  had 
nevertheless  undertaken  on  personal  grounds  an  ex 


THE  mCEDY  OFF  SANDY  HOOK  ^, 


the  savages  for  their  cantMrA-.^'S^  ^^^ards  to 
glad,  when  I  have  toK  f  V  ^  "^'^  °^  ^  «"'ety  be 
upon  this  girl,  who  has  Jceot  a^T^  V^^  ^'^  ^and 
stition  in  these  dirty  bruffs  of  ^'w^  ^°'"'^'^  ^^Per- 

Thrhe°i^^d1„f  ^^aS^^^^  ^"' """  '^^ 

of  Evelyn  and  of  thot"4a™'  T °"^  ^consistency 
subjugated  his  hardened  and^w  ^  .t''*  ^^  ^^^ 
leaned  over  the  ^rln^f  ^i.        cynical  heart.    As  Hp 

the  "Anna  M^rff'titZTi^^'  '*  '^^  'cloTe  to 
eyes  of  hers,  so  d^erent  TZl^  ^^^  ^'  ^"^  those 
eyes,  seemed  to  beckon  hL'^"'^'??"  ^^'^  ^  other 
await  the  result  of  the  atta^k^L  ^'  ^?"'d  scarcely 
^as  to  put  the  sloop  andlts  ''n^'"^*''^**'  ^^ich 
power.    ForhehadanXmitlP^''l".«^'"^  '"  their 
danng  more  fraught^TwH,  7  "."  ^''  '"•"'^'  '"ore 
than  that  of  conleyi,^  Evell^"'^  '""'"^  delectable 
York.    ThiswastopersuadlrSotKPrf"''''  *o  New 
for  foreign  ports  with  ?he  mv^f  ^^'^^  to  sail  away 
'nveigled  on  board  of  the  S™.  ^P""!'     ^e  had 

clergyman,  attached  to  an  fiS'^i  "^'^^  ^  ^oung 
pretext  of  taking  a  pteasanf  f -.^''J'''^''' ""^er  the 
The  latter,  who  was  nnf  I  "I  ^''  '^own  the  Bay. 
was  flattered  by  The  noti.^  ^°'il  "^."^  ambitions 
officer  of  His  ExcellencvWff^  ^^^  '^""'^"t  young 
to  the  invitation  SL'^j.f"'^ '•f.dily  responded 
must  sooner  or  latefS  5 h  l  "'  ^''*  ^^^^  ^^elyn 
-h'ch  he  would  be  en^^eJ  to^-^-f-^  aj« 


if 


^•1 


■^ii' 


!!      I 


404    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 
Lord  Bellomont.  who  had  some  aspect  for  the  young 
officer's    influential    relations    in    Engknd.      The 
autumn  afternoon  was  darkemng  to  mght,   rough 
weaihS  was  presaged,  the  crest  of  the  waves  showed 
wWte   the^-guUs  flew  low.  and  the  boats  o^  the 
oyste^  filers  We  making  shorewards  m  Uste. 
Pros^r  WiUiams  felt  his  heart  beat  high,  and  h^s 
to^Siation  was  excited  by  the  thought  of  how  m- 
Sly  preferable  would  be  his  own  particular  scheme 
?h2i  to  S  the  tedious  and  sordid  processes  of 
ST  He^U  quite  noble  and  virtuous  that  he  was 
Spared  to  sa^crifice.  or  run  the  "^.°f  ^^'^i^I 
hfe  prospects  in  England  by  a  carnage  with  this 
obscure  ^rirl.     He  had  ahnost  persuaded  himself 
Sat  \ike  a  hero  of  romance,  he  was  hastening  to 
£r  rescue  whin  his  thoughts  were  interrupted  by 
Vhe  ap^arance  at  his  side  of  Henncus  Laurens 
who  remkided  him  that  it  was  time  they  appeaxed 
on  boaS  the  sloop  to  give  an  appearance  of  legdity 
to  what  Greatbatch  had  already  done  there,  and  to 
a^St  father  and  daughter  formally  m  the  name  of 
S^  law     Pr^ser  WUliams  received  the  remmder 
coldly     He  would  have  preferred,  to  have  allowed 
aSatdi  to  manage  the  affair  in  furtherance  of 
gf^SiSre^scheml.    But  he  c»ald  not  weU  refuse 

to  accept  the  services  of  thi%«>?"f  ^^.^^^hai 
which  he  had  at  first  earnestly  desired.  He  saw  that 
Wstsociato  was  feverishly  a««°"f^^  aW  any 
charee  of  complicity  in  a  mere  piratical  outrage. 
^ntrolUng  himself,  therefore,  he  followed  his  com- 
p^on  MTb^^orie  of  the  ship's  boats,  which  lay 
^y  to  cc«vey  them  to  the  sloop.  Greatbatch 
Kone  forward  so  far  as  to  bind  and  render  help- 
kss  CaS  Jenkins  and  his  men,  whUe  Evelyn  had 
S^n  toSlrim  her  father  and  imprisoned  m  the 


THE  TRAGEDY  OFF  SANDY  HOOK    40, 

cabm.    Bonding  the  "Anna  m    •   ..  ^ 

th.eir  astonishment  the  p^stifi'"/'     ^^^  »*  to 

lying  on  a  pile  of  saiI-cfo?h  ^^^  ^^^  °^  »  man, 

of  Henricus  Laurens     hevdi^^-5f'"'i°  *^«  *«W 
de  Lacey.    Thev  s/^  »  »       <Hccovered  to  be  Geralrf 

on  a  legal  basis,  MyXer  T  f  ^""^J  *°  P"^  mattera 
wounded  man,  and'^^The  ITof  "^T  ""'^  *«  *^ 
their  heads,  which  relieved  th^  1  *  ^•^*^™  ^^ove 
began  to  read  the  warrant  for  tlf  =^T"/  'darkness, 
de  Lacey  and  his  dSter  1  ""^1*  ^^  °"^  ^e^ald 
recusants,  accused  of  varioS'fdon^*^*^  as  Popish 
able  practices,  contrary  to  tLi°"l  ^<^  treason- 
of  the  Colony  of  M^^  '^J"^  ^^^^^  of  England  and 

P^ssTwiulSenrson,  ^i'  ^  ««««  of  Captain 
with  a  cynicTsSrS'oJ.n'^^'^^'*^^^^ 
Laurens  flushed  with  fanatical  «»  '^J  ^enricus 
as  he  read,  while  Greatbatch  nn^^  ^'?*^  exultation 
subdued,  stood  by  Ws  coa^l  unusually  silent  and 
perturbation.  In  th^  T^h  ^^"^  si^"8  signs  of 
scarcely  touched  Mm  W  Z'  '°  t^at  the  ligh 
Sl^^--  ^-^H^v^--.  -o^|d 

'^  '^'  ^°  °^^-  --  ^-?e  SSste^^  ti 


::;-i!^ 


tfe 


GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 
course,  and  said,  whUe  a  whimsical  smile  crossed  his 

"Another  messenger  has  been  before  you,  sir, 
whom  I  must  preferably  obey." 

Not  understanding  his  meanmg.  Mynheer  began 
to  bluster,  and  callci  to  his  side  the  constable  who 
had  accompanied  him:  ...»       ,     i 

"Do  you  not  perceive."  said  Mr  de  Lacey, 
quietly,  "that  I  have  received  my  death-wound? 

Henricus  Laurens  was  startled  out  of  all  his  com- 
posure. It  was  an  event  which  he  had  never  for 
Tmoment  anticipated.  He  turned  furiously  upon 
Greatbatch,  but  Mr.  de  Lacey  was  speaking  again 

"Since  I  cannot  Mirvivc  I  implore  you,  whatever 
your  opinions  and  j.  .judices,  as  an  honorable  mail, 
as  the  husband  of  Evelyn's  dearest  fnend,  to  do 
what  I  am  unable  to  do  and  protect  my  daughter 

"But "  stammered  Laurens,  disconcerted  stiU 
more  by  that  appeal,  "she  too  i^s  included  in  these 
charges.     She  has  made  herself  amenable  to  the 

*^''lf  you  cannot  protect  her /row  the  law,"  said  the 
wounded  man,  solemnly.  "I  conjure  you,  at  least  to 
protect  her  by  the  law  from  the  clutches  of  a  yiUam- 

It  is  possible  that  some  light  was  thrown  into  the 
perplexity  and  confusion  of  the  ycung  man  s  mind 
bv  the  ranark,  which  he  found  to  be  startling  in  the 
extreme.  But,  telling  himself  that  it  was  the  vam 
fear  of  an  idolizing  father,  an  attempt  to  injure  an 
enemy,  or  perhaps  supposing  that  he  referred  to 
Greatbatch,  he  answered  stolidly:  „ 

"The  law  will  afford  her  all  needful  protection. 

"To  its  tender  mercies  and  yours,  sir,  Mr.  de 
Lacey  said  in  a  faintly  ironical  tone,  I  commend 
her." 


THE  TRAGEDY  OFF  SANDY  HOOK  407 

KeSli^^^-h^fj^o  be  .Wing  and.  be- 
so^as  to  be  heard  by  ^iS''  ^^  '"^""^  ^^'  ^oko. 
die.  asThaveXe?°^  f^TV^'Jl  ^"-  that  I 
^  ^-hatcauLVr^„^Sth-e^S^- 
?g^fi"^'  effort  he  added: 

dying  man.  his  voicf  sbW^^  ^"??'"'  "^^^^  the 
praying  that,  since  thmn^h^  -.^  .'^'"'P^'"'  f^"  to 
could  be  had  to  shrive  h^  T''  '^^^  "°  P^est 
would  absolve  him  from  .Tl-^^^-  '"^'"^"'  Saviour 
to  the  eternal  hap^in  °sT    "  *"'  "'"'  ^^  bring  him 

the  'StLt^^^LTT  u^?-  —g^t 

so  tragical  a  character  l^t'^^i''^  ^^^^  ^^^umed 
though  annoyed  at  thr^.  P^^'"  ^"""^^'^  Williams 
voke  remar/^d  aw4enuhr'"  ""^'"^  "light  ^ol 
de  Laceys.  was  nevr,^!^  P"^'"'  sympathy  for  the 

another  ^obstTcL  wis  aSfto^'S'"^  ^'^^^"^^  that 
Path^  Conferrinripart  «^th  t^'""^^'^  ^«""  ^'^ 
soundly  med  hi,?  fo?  his  ^cL?^  snj.uggler.  he 
the  approaching  death  of  Mr  rf"^'"'  ^""^  ^^^'d 
weapon  above  his  head  gL^I  ^T^  *'  ^°ther 
assumed  a  surlv  demp.n.  i''^*''^'  «"  his  part 
away  with  the  Ve'S °  ^H^*  '^^^^tened  to^sai 

.  At  this  juncture  MvnW   f^^^^  condition. 


f     .: 


i 


t  I 


ii' 


1 1- 


408    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 
ious  to  make  a  good  appearance  in  the  eyesof  the 

rnst^birrnd  other  -^^f'; ^ *Srit  ir- 
common  decency  demanded  that  ^J^f  prl  M  ^^ 
mitted  to  attend  upon  her  dymg  father,  a^terwhicn 
X  law  might  take  its  course.  Prosser  Wilhams  m- 
wardUv  ™iled  h^  associate,  who.  in  hs  quality  of 
maristrate^nd  member  of  the  Council,  could  not 
S^  dSegard^  ContiolUng  his  anger,  he  protested 
S!at  hlhad  merely  wished  to  spare  Mistress  de  Lacey 

"■Tcannri'spared  her.''  retorted  Henricus 
Laurens,  curtly,  and  at  his  mandate  the  door  of  the 
cabYn  was  opened  and  the  young  girl  came  forth  It 
htd  been  the  brutality  of  Greatbatch.  coupled  with 
fnstlSg  remarks  whfch  he  had  let  faU  concemmg 
the  fine  eentleman  who  was  anxious  to  carry  her 
away,  thit  had  caused  Mr.  de  .Lacey  to  unsheathe 
his  sword  and  make  this  unavaihng  attempt  to  de- 

'' cipufn  P',!i's's^r  Williams  drc.  far  back  into  the 
shS  wfeTEvelyn  came  fort.,  f ~m  the  ^abn. 
The  lieht  of  the  lantern  showed  hsr  face  aeaoiy 
Se  hir  eyes  haggard,  and  her  beauty  temporarily 
objured.  But  there  was  no  outcry  no  word  of 
compSnt  or  reproach  as  she  threw  herself  on  her 
kn^s  beside  her  father,  holding  his  hand  ^ready 
Sd  in  aip'oaching  death  and  ta^ng  to^m  in 
heaxtbrok^  whispers.  For  one  glance  at  his  face 
had  sufficed,  and  she  knew  the  dreadful  tnal  that 
wasi^t^i^forher.  By  a  swift  moyement^e  un- 
fastened from  her  neck  a  ^'"^^^^^..^t^^'^en 
before  the  fast  glazmg  eyes.  and.  forgetting  even 
her  sorrow,  murmured  prayers  and  the  Sacr«l 
Names  that  alone  can  pve  hope  «  t^e  ^ymg  Chn 
tian.    Her  father,  who  had  repeated  clearly  ana  ois 


THE  TRAGEDY  OFF  SANDY  HOOK  .00 

lar"  "'  °^  --^"-  O'  suppHcation.  ^.^ 

dawning  for  me  "       ^         ^  °^  eternity.'    It  jg 

stntk^n'o^T"'  '"■"  ^^^^y"  ^d  a  wailing  heart- 
^My  father,  oh!  my  father '" 

he  spokS?mo4^f'2n^r'  '°  """"^'^  "^^  »>"* 

-Pnl"h\'"gttTrit%^'^'^x  -^  -"-'-e 
njght  that  had  faUen  on  tJ'f    ^".'^^  ^'oo"  of 
Death,  the  most  thrini^^w^lj^%°^  the  waters, 
enterprise,  had  thus  cut  shL'J"f'<=  f'^  ^  every 
a  human  life.    Evelvn  1  r  =,    ^^  '^"^'^^  thread  of 
her  surroundingraXvln  thXr'"^"'^">y  forgo 
m  the  one  absorbing  dj^^  to  h^'^u"'^*?'*'^  f^"™ 
w:th  her  prayers  and  acc^^l^^'P^er  dead  fathe; 
to  the  very  iud£mpnT«„o.   ^S.^^  ^is  be bved  soul 

jntoJnactYornC^ti'^^  t'm.^^*  "'«''•    Awed 
interfere  with  her  in  t™  first  f^  ^^  *"«""?*  ^ 
Prosser  Williams  curbed  hi^ir^iT  moments.   Even 
>n  a  silence  broken  onhrbv  thX*''?"fu  ^"'^  ^^'^ed 
scream  of  a  sea-bird  OTthlL^-°^  *he  waves,  the 
the  freshening  breeze     The  ^?f"^  "^'^^  «"  ^ 
blew  mto  their  faces    and  tW    ^"^  °^  ^he  ocean 
sound  ofahnosthumM  an  J«h-  T?'  ^  desolating 
all  at  once  they  we^T^r^^f^  '"  ^^e  wind.    Then 
other  sounds  ^Wch^st^^Hl^"""  their  letharg^  by 
awakened  as'  iT  from  EberTf,  ""  '°  ^etion%nJ 
.Hesperia...  Oreatbat^ft^-^-^Cgl^i^,^ 


n\ 


4IO    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

into  the  waiting  boat,  and  hastened  towards  the 
?•  V-„»  Wnr  mmine  like  a  phantom  ship  out 
ofX  Xkn^i  thr-Memiaid,"  Rogers  Master, 
had^aS? S  Greatbatch  and  his  crew,  at  first 
£5ewdi?to  be  one  of  the  French  privateers  which 
wi^lver  lurking  about  the  coa.t  fmd  made  su^ 
preparations  as  they  might  for  defo?ce-  But,^en 
bv  surprise,  the,  advantage  was  all  with  the  a^sajlant^ 
A  Jwrt  sharp  conflict  took  place,  which  w^  heard 
on  theBreXyn  shore  and  reverberated  through 
?v«  vfpl^tsTbove.  Its  echoes  even  reached  as 
tr  a^  Ma^X.:  and    set   the   townspeople  to 

"  OnS  the  sloop  still  remained  Evely^- P^f 
bv  the  side  of  her  father,  whose  eyes  she  had  closed 
oL  wW  features  had  taken  on  the  majesty  of 
defthTheSaS  remained  Henricus  Laui^ns  and 
Sf  constable,  whose  attention  -a^completdy  ab- 
sorbed by  what  was  going  on  aboard  the    Hespem, 
^d  Captain  Piosser  Williams,  who  was  fi^ed  w^th 
tSxiety  for  the  success  of  his  schemes  and  with  the 
f^  that  Evelyn  might  still  escape  hmi.    i^  expe^- 
enT  suddenly  occurred  to  him  upon  which  he  pre- 
ceded to  art.    He  released  Captain  JeiJans  and  his 
^n  w^?h  the  assistance  of  Mynheer  Laurens  and 
Se  ^Sable,  and  commaiided  them  to  set  sail  ^d 
^aV,'  all  nossible  haste  to  reach  Manhattan,     ine 
^LrT^fwas  indignant  at  the  treatnient  that 
SCn  meteTout  to  him  and  was  loud  m  his  de- 
nunSn  of  the  murder  that  had  been  committed 
on  Sd°"the  sloop,  still.saw  some  reason  m  Cap  ain 
Williams'  expressed  desire  to  save  the  lady  any  tur 
SS^SelSntness  and  to  put  her  ashore  as  speedily 
as  possMe  with  the  body  ofh^r  father^     „ 

'^t's  one  of  those  damned  Frenchmen,    Prosser 


THE  TRAGEDY  OFF  SANDY  HOOK  4„ 

^"SS"™"^^"'  ""^^  '^  *^ng  to  overhaul  the 

bott^"^„Sr.d  cL'^'  T^  f^^  ^"^  her  to  the 

''Weil/' suSeJX^.^J^i''' '^^^"sW 
Wni  to  get  thf  W,  M  ^^^^-^     y°"  'I"  not  want 

f?r?ro:^'?L^- tSd -',;"  P^''^^'  ^  b-t  put 
fide  Captain  Ferrers   Retp,  q"^^'?^  *°  ^^^  ^'oop's 
four  sturdy  mem Ws  o^  the  Jet"'' ?n  V^  '^^^^  °^ 
despair,  Prosser  William.,  qL^^'^    ,    ^^^  '^^Se  and 
of  himself.     He  raied  L^  <■         -  "^  ^'  '=°°*'"oI 
Evelyn  in  his  a^sftfovp  If  °""^'^'  ^"'»'  ^ing 
sel's  side  into  o™  of  the  lo^,^'^?,^^^'-  over  the  ves! 
of  landing  her  ut^nNX*' Tr*  j*''"^  ^^d  idea 
Jf  ed  upln  his  as^Sat^s  to  aid  hT.f  •     ^'  '°»<^y 
the  escape  of  a  daneerou^  n^-c^      ™i  *"<^  prevent 
they  beeVwilling  tSai^-"'°"T-    ^"*'  ^""^  had 
taking,  it  was  tSo  late^^^lh^  ^o  deperate  an  under- 
ready  on  board  the  "Ann.  ,'^''=l'e-Party  were  al- 
from  Captain  Ferrers'  V^f^  ^^^^'l    ^°<*  *  blow 
jams'  anS  to  fall  ^'weSol^rl^'^T^  ^^- 
dramatic  moment  whpn  tvl  ^    ^  ^^^-    ^t  was  a 
Bellomont's  Hou  ehSd  id   °  f"^^  °^  ^'^ 
face,  with  such  Smen^^f  ^"^  °*her  in  the 
agined.    It  w^  m^vX      i      ""^^  ^^''^^  be  im- 

SchuylerthaTS^vemedFelTf  ~"^'^'?  °^  P'^'er 
and  there  upon  hirf ellow  nffi     ^™™  "lAicting  then 


"lir 


412    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

Prosser  Williams'  last  effort,  and  in  sullen  rage  and 
dS)air  he  had  to  witness  the  removal  of  Evdyn 
^the  dead  body  of  Mr.  de  Lacey  to  the  Mer- 
maid." while  he  and  his  associates  were  left  to  retmri 
to  the  "Hesperia"  and  its  crestfallen  commander. 
Greatbatch. 


iH 


CHAPTER  xm 

AN  ALLY  WON 

MADAM  VAN  CORTLANnT     ..  ■ 
same  room  from  whi^  Fv^  sat  in  that  self- 
fled  from  the  inquisitori^^rJ^p^^^W  had 
Ransom  and  his  comoanv^i-    F^P]^  Tobias 
old  clock  was  tiddn?awav  t.T"'^^^'  ^^  the 
noon.    The  niistSSoJl?Tr*"  °^  ^  '^iny 
of  late,  for  it  was  the   Keof^h^^  been  veiy  busy 
household  work  had  to  bL  Hnni^    ^^  "^^^  ™«ch 
Pe^nal  supervision.    Butt^  h;/^^'  "^^^  ^er 
packed  away  in  firkins  in  ff  u  f  ^"^  "^de  and 
Salt  beef  and  porkrSfd  fisi^Lft"^*""^  ^^T  ^^^^ 
process  taught  the  white  ^Mp^'^k''  ^°^^  ^y  a 
had  been  stored  awav  in  fL^.'^y  the  Indians 
thehouse.   'lSSSsblns1S.fe^«'"^«"de'^ 
an  abundant  supply  of  such  v^^u,'*°*=''«i'^th 
keep  during  the'^ter  sSn    W^^'  ^  ^°"ld 
Van  Cortlandt,  who  WS,'„  ^"^  "^'t  ^^^^ 
years,  was  disposed  tZresTwJ^^-^^'^^^  °^  her 
however,  werelorely  t^ed  h^,^^  ^'^  ^'^' 
in  the  pubUc  and  pohtSwfof  L*Lf^*  ^^«nts 
of  New  York,  and  by  thosf  t?,  uV  ^^P""^  Colony 
fallen  Evelyn  deUcevandtp/r.^'^'  ^^"^  had  be- 

of  regard  and  respect^'th  ^i,-^  ^^''f  sentiments 


I 


11" 


414    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

Captain  Prosser  WiUiams  had  played  in  the  troubles 
of  the  father  and  daughter,  and  of  his  late  dastardly 
attempt,  which  had  resulted  so  tragically. 

As  die  sat  thus  thinking  of  all  those  things,  her 
knitting-needles  lying  idle  in  her  lap  and  the  teare 
dimming  her  eyes  so  that  she  had  to  remove  the 
specUdes  from  her  nose  and  wipe  them,  the  door 
o^ned.    The  old  woman's  face  brightened  when  she 
saw  that  it  was  PoUy.    Ahnost  immediately  though, 
she  noted  that  the  bright  face  which  looked  .n  upon 
her  was  clouded,  and  that  it  had  f^fdy  lost  its 
look  of  ioyousness  and  youth.    In  fact,  there  naa 
been  that  day  one  qf  the  many  stormy  scenes  be- 
twee  1  husband  and  wife,  concerning  the  part  which 
Hesi-i^ns  Laurens  had   played  m  the  de  Laceys 
misfortunes,  and  which  only  of  late  had  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  Polly.    Even  before  her  marriage,  she 
had  been  aware  that  her  future  husband  was  anro- 
Eant  and  domineering  by  nature  and  mclined  to  the 
Narrowest  fanaticism,  but,  after  the  manner  of  young 
eirls.  she  had  trusted  that  her  power  over  him  would 
be  sufficient  to  soften  and  subdue  the  asperities  of 
his  character.    Her  few  months  of  married  hfe  ha -^ 
dispelled  many  illusions,  but  she  had  been  altogether 
unwepared  for  his  conduct  towards  her  best  fnend 
and  the  torrent  of  coarse  invective  which  he  had 
poured  forth  against  the  de  Laceys,  her  own  family 
and  friends,  and  even  against  herself . 

She  was  fairly  boiling  over  with  mdignation.  but 
she  knew  that  it  was  Kttle  use  complaanmg  to  her 
wise  and  experienced  grandmother,  who  on  other 
occasions  had  merely  bade  her  to  restrain  her  tongue 
from  words  which  she  would  afterwards  regret.  Ihe 
constraint  which  she  put  upon  herself  raised  a  shght 
but  perceptible  barrier  between  the  two  women, 


AN  ALLY  WON 


which  each  keenly  felt    Th^tu  ^1  *'^ 

upon  Polly  with  SfoSL  £*.  °/  ^^^'i^  '^- 
tf?-  She  recalled  her  n^^°Mf  •  *°  ""^^^  her  to 
^aruig  all  her  enjoyml^ts  iTl^""?""*'  '-eautilul, 
ship  that  had  never  bSn7i„  ^  t  i°^"S  «)mpanion- 

the  dreary  sound  of  the  rafn  nn^u  '^"'"bined  with 
-4«;e  pavement  ^-5^1^3l  ZS^tl^jJ"  ^^^ 

«?eming  ^to^^bSr^'^'^W^o,!^  an  excuse  for  not 
Van  Cortlandt  began  to  taUc  o7  p  ^5*  ^^.^'  ^^dam 
of  exile  down  in  the  SpShC^^^^'^h^^  P'ace 
trne,  whither  she  had  h^^     ^'""^  °^  St.  Augus- 
tam  Rogers  T'-The  M^^^.Y^f  ^-'^  by  C 
had  wntten  one  or  two  »fi!^u  ',  ^""^  whence  she 
with  some  abruptness  °nW?H"  ^^"ers.    pX 
her  idea  of  making  fpe^Sl  *"  '^."^  godmother 
mont  to  use  her  influence  fni^^^^  '°  ^^y  Bello- 
her  friend  and  peirnSn  fnrlf™?"^  *^^  Pa^don  of 
hattan.     With  oas^^no?    I  ^^'^  *°  ""etuni  to  Man 
ruled  such  objec?fo„?rM,t*^"^"ation   ,he  fver- 
forth  on  the  icor4  "f  her  Wh     l^  ^orclandt  put 
«tion  to  the  scheme  andftS  %P'°''^^'^  °PP°- 
glad  to  snatch  at  that  fr^t,^^^  ^^  ^«t  t°o 
Evelj^'s  return  to  AlSaSn^  ^T  °^  securing 
of  all  her  woes.    She  stood  r.r^'^  *^^  tenninatiof 
and  watched  her  ZnSi^T°'^  **  '^«  ^ndow 
mssion,  despite  th^P^v??^*^'"  Proceeding  on  her 
which  Petnfs  1tu^^S'"t"hi°n^  thatiansion 
of  the  Dutch    ha^  ;„     '     *"^  Headstrong  Peter" 

J  "udiever  m  secunng  ad- 


4i6    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

mission  to  the  gubernatorial  dwelling  and  the  pres- 
ence of  Lady  BeUomont.    For  the  latter  had  an 
extreme  curiosity  to  know  more  about  Evelyn  de 
Lacey  and  her  father,  of  whom  she  had  he^-d  but 
fleeting  rumors.    She  guessed  at  once  that  the  psit 
of  young  Vrow  Laurens  at  that  juncture  could  be 
coimected  with  nothing  else.   The  Countess  of  BeUo- 
mont sat  in  a  boudoir  which  she  had  fitted  up  for 
herself,  and  wherein  she  had  gathered  odd  tnnlrets 
of  many  sorts.    An  odor  of  perfume,  distinct  but 
deUcate,  mingled  with  the  salt  breeze  from  the  Bay. 
Mv  Lady  was  in  a  house  gown  of  pale  pink,  over 
wWch  she  wore  a  scarf  of  blue,  with  a  profusion  of 
costly  lace.     It  waS  a  costume  which  emphasLzed 
that  curious  blending  of  the  young  and  the  old  m 
her  appearance.    The  face  showed  numerous  hnes, 
fine  and  ahnost  imperceptible  at  a  distance;    tiie 
eyes,  deep-set  and  dark-circled,  had  an  mdescnbable 
weariness  in  their  expression.     She  was  devoured 
with  ennui,  despite  the  excitement  whidi  raged 
within  and  without  the  mansion,  but  of  wluch  die 
caught  only  faint  echoes.    She  knew  ihat  Lord  BeUo- 
mont had  been  in  outrageous  humor,  which  might 
have  been  in  itself  a  distraction,  if  he  had  not  ab- 
sented himself  for  the  great  part  of  every  day. 
She,  therefore,  greeted  the  visitor  very  graciously, 
since  her  presence  was  a  reUef  from  intolerable  bore- 
dom.   With  an  interest  which  effectuaUy  aroused 
her,  she  listened  to  the  various  adventures  of  Evelyn, 
and  expressed  the  greatest  sympathy  for  her  sa,d  case 
She  promised  to  use  what  influence  she  had,  though 
doubtful  of  results.  . 

"The  moment,"  she  said,  "is  inopportune.  Ihe 
Earl  has  but  lately  returned  from  his  government  ot 
New  England,  and  is  sadly  perturbed  over  many 


AN  ALLY  WON 

S?^SSt5-"^"--    Yet  I  am  willing  to  do  ly 

upSi^iSgetl,  tatle''^^^  ^--^"ed  ring 
and  diamond,  whkh  met  l^^'^*^'  f  PP**'^'  ™by 
ferent  light.  *  **®^'  ^^Sht  each  a  dif- 

wh^Ct^?c"^p^S;' p^-id,  "to  <^-over  the 

quired.  I  have  be«?met  «^'^-    J^^°  ^  have  in- 

adeteminationr^t^srL^    a''"."^'^"'  ^^^'^'^^  and 
WiUiams-"  °°°°' to  speak.   As  for  Captain  Prosser 

inipSivel^*  thrice-detestable  being!"  cried  Polly 

upoji  a  mission  of  diSa^  Ta^*^.  T^u"?  '^"t 
fined  to  his  quarters  nT™',,,-  ^  ^^'"^  ^e  is  con- 
I  might  have  hSrd  mo,^  Xf  ^^"^^J"-,  Otherwise 
Excellency  naid  him  =  T^-.  As  I  am  informed,  His 
turn  and  LShen-"  ^'''  "Mediately  on  hi's^! 

sinSVCliS;^P«^/- she  did  -t  care  to  add- 

than  her  frien^MisTrfi  Jf  f  *  ^"'^ '^i^'^^^t  temper 
came  thence  in  a  whSrv.'*y~*''^t  My  L^d 
in  the  late  affair  Afte/^„T""f '"^  ^  concerned 
been  closeted  with  J^Jn  Sln^^f  °""^"«J, '^^  had 
of  the  most  fanaticaJ  fin^  '  "^^aver  and  others 
Mynheer  Lam^s  had  feHd^-.?","^^*"  '^hich 
been  a  rumor,  too,  that  th^  jf  ?^**^.  ^^^''^  had 
was  hotly  debated,  as  4ellTtL1  ^f'^'^^'^^y'^'- 
others,  who  had  be^n  nriw  ff  w  t°^  ^°«««  and 
described  as  an  a^ac&Ifi  ^^*  V"'^  Bellomont 


1 


ill 


4i8    GERALD  db  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

a  time,  untU  the  pleasure  of  His  ExceUency  should 
be  known.  As  the  Countess  was  well  aware,  her 
husband  had  been  exceedingly  disturbed  about  a 
petition,  and  not  the  first  one,  which  had  been  sent 
to  England  from  many  prominent  members  of  the 
colony,  protesting  against  his  arbitrary  proceedmgs 
and  the  restrictions  he  had  imposed  upon  trade.  In 
consequence  he  had  received  from  the  King  an  in- 
timation that  his  mode  of  action  would  have  the 
result  of  driving  many  men  of  note  away  from  New 
York,  and  that  it  must  be  discontinued.  The  repri- 
mand was  galling  in  the  extreme  to  his  proud  and 
overbearing  nature,  and  this,  with  attacks  of  the 
gout  from  which  he  periodically  suffered,  had  not 
improved  his  temper. 

Altogether,  Lady  Bellomont  felt  that  it  was  a 
singvdarly  inopportune  moment  to  proffer  to  His 
Excellency  a  request  in  favor  of  a  girl  against  vhom 
he  had  been  prejudiced  from  the  first.  Still  the 
Governor's  wife  was  deeply  concerned  to  hear  of 
Mr  de  Lacey's  death  and  the  loneliness  of  Evelyn 
in  her  exile.  She  looked  very  grave  when  her  visitor 
informed  her  that  the  common  report  of  the  town 
was  that  Captain  Ferrers  had  been  arrested  and 
thrown  into  one  of  the  dungeons  of  the  Fort  for  his 
gallant  intervention  in  favor  of  the  father  and 
daughter.  She  shook  her  head  doubtfully,  as  she 
remembered  that  startling  intelligence. 

"If  he  has  done  so  much,"  shesaid,  "tohisfavonte 
officer,  what  can  we  expect  on  behalf  of  one  whom  he 
chooses  to  consider  as  a  dangerous  enemy  to  the 
state  and  a  Pap'st?" 

She  presently  dismissed  her  visitor,  with  a  promise 
to  do  all  that  she  could  for  Mistress  de  Lacey,  in 
whose  welfare  she  was  deeply  interested,  but  that 


AN  ALLY  WON 
^he^t  bide  her  tin^e.    In  biddin,  p,u,  ^^^1' 

from  the  malice  of  w  „     ^-     "*  "  safe  refuge  far 
strive  to  keS  L?  tJ^X"  to  ^^  '^^^^^'^ttl 

tentfJrlS  St"^^  '^  '^^'  --  °-e^y  con- 


,1'^ 


CHAPTER  XIV 


CONDITIONAL  PARDON 

LADY  BELLOMONT  waited  for  some  days  untfl 
J  the  storm  had  abated  b«^o^,,aPP'?^^'"?.™ 
ExceUency  upon  the  subject  of  Vrow  Laurens  re- 
nuest  Seizing  what  she  considered  to  be  a  favor- 
2bk  op^^ty.  she  began  with  apparent  careless- 
ness and  in  the  most  casual  manner:  t,„v_+ 
"Is  not  this  a  singular  adventure  m  which  Egbert 
Ferrers  has  become  involved?" 

•^e^gular,"  growled  His  Lordship,  who  s«rely 
missed  the  ^ces  of  his  most  efficient  officer,  arid 
SdJy  traitorous  and  disloyal  in  the  position 

which  he  occupied."  .  „j  ..  ^^\a   T^dv 

"Perchance  I  do  not  understand,  said  Lady 
Bellomont,  "but  is  it  not  rather  a  case  o^. f  ^^ 
gallantry,  wherein  any  young  man  of  his  temper 
might  easily  figure?" 

The  Governor's  countenance  darkened. 

"He  has  a  warm  advocate  in  the  Countess  of 
Bellomont,"  he  observed  drily. 

"UntU  this  moment."  said  the  Co""*^'  ~"?; 
oosedly.  "I  shouH  have  imagmed  that  he  would 
Ce  found  his  ad  cateinyou,  ^Sf  he^Id  S 
so  often  you  declare  how  ^'^S^^^^f.  ^^J^flr^": 
But  let  that  pass.  My  concem.is  rather  for  the  un- 
fortunate young  lady  involved  in  this  affair. 


[<tS 


CONDITIONAL  PARDON 


"And  whv  \fnri=~   t  ^*' 

fowling,  "Md  tt^',^P^y^?".;>-d  the  Earl, 
sentative  have  any  «,i^  f  "'^  Majesty's  repre: 
who  Iws  been,  nKref^  h  '  *  ^^Pis*.  and  o^ 
'^SS  ""^"^"^^^  dangerous  meddler  "n 

con<^1hafo;e'^y^^dy^?,7red.  "I  have  the 
has  for  another  who  .Ti^'arievJ,?^''^?'  °''  P^^^nt. 
>s  the  young  maid,  after  tl?n?  '*'"^'*^-  For  here 
vexations  of  many  ^rtJ  Sw^r'^^'^  '«  Wals  and 
home  and  Wends.^S'  ^„^°"e  ^^  ««'ed  from 
attempt  to  defend  her  f  ^"  h^  ^«'h«-  slain  in  an 
heart  of  stone."  "'^^ '*«  enough  to  melt  a 

kerc!lLf'?f"C  MfliJf^^^^^^th  f  P^^tty  hand- 
His  wife  was  looking  partiltn,  u  "^^^^  ^o^ened. 
tume  which  he  haH  ^f^  .^'^  charming  in  a  rnZ 
find.it  unbe'S„\i„°^^«J'^^^^^  -d  hV"did  ?^ 
P^on  for  the  w<ls  of  "theL  r^"  ^^  *?  ^«'  «""- 
he  had  been  accustomed  TrfA-  *  Sratilied  him  since 
whom  he  had  so  eSjInSrSrT  '1  '^^  ^^^^ 
bnlliancyofhersocialextS  H°"'y  *^«  hard  cold 
uponhershoulder.aTdreJ^^^edS^fh  P"^'''^  ^^ 

,   ^-^tv^ta'ra.r^S,!r;"-->^ng: 
Exc^ll^nljUtr^tic  fool  Of  TFenersr  His 

-y  Lad?,'^.rtS  ss  i^  r  p'^  y'^-'"  -id 

and  forgotten  her."  ^"  ^*^«  returned  home 


l^'. 


412    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

My  Lord  drew  his  wife  towards  him  with  a  move- 
ment of  unwonted  tenderness. 

"In  my  busy  life,  weighted  down  with  public 
cares,"  he  said,  "I  have  had  but  little  time  to  know 
you.  and  perchance  I  owe  you  something  for  my 

"Ck)uld  we  all  but  repair  our  mistakes  so  easily, 
Richard,  as  you  can,"  Her  Ladyship  said  with  a 
sigh,  "for  you  have  unlimited  power  in  your  hands! 

The  Governor  sat  down  somewhat  heavily  in  his 
chair  at  a  desk  strewn  with  papers,  and  my  Lady, 
with  that  grace  and  charm  which  she  knew  so  well 
how  to  employ,  laid  her  hands  upon  his  shoulders 
and  leaned  over  him,  pointing  to  a  blank  sheet  of 
paper  which  lay  before  him.  . 

"A  few  strokes  of  your  pen,"  she  said,  wiU  give 
me  great  pleasure  and  to  others  happiness. 

But  at  the  moment,  as  though  he  could  have  fore- 
seen what  was  in  progress,  and  indeed  he  had  learned 
that  the  Countess  had  gone  to  seek  His  ExceUencj 
at  his  office  to  proffer,  as  she  had  said,  an  urgent 
request,  Captain  Prosser  WiUiams  was  announced 
My  Lady  raised  her  hand  haughtUy,  Lord  Bellomoni 
dropped  the  pen  which  he  had  taken  in  his  hand 
and  his  whole  countenance  changed  as  if  by  magic 
Every  trace  of  softness  disappeared.  For  althougl 
he  was  not  altogether  plet.sed  at  the  interruption 
the  very  name  of  Prosser  Williams  recalled  manj 
things  to  his  mind  which  he  had  been  in  danger  o 
forgetting.  He  remembered  all  that  the  young  mai 
had  told  him  in  distorted  and  exaggerated  terms  o 
Mr.  de  Lacey's  seditious  proceedings  in  England 
and  how  he  had  made  himself  obnoxious  to  Hi 
Majesty.  Williams  had  also  dwelt  upon  his  exertion 
under  Governor  Dongan  to  spread  the  Cathoh 


CONDITIONAL  PARDON 

skiDtx>r  R«  recent  escaoe  Ho^i    ■     "^^  whom 

^Pper  Rogers  was  onJy  thSr^AJ  '^^^""«  'hat  the 

W^^sfe„5"4^^,th^^^^        inflamed   Lord 


I 


'&'' 


\  'l 


"til 


4.4    GERALD  PB  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 
Earl  a  plan,  which  should  as  he  said,  go  far  to  con- 
dUate  all  parties  concerned^  „  ^^^^_ 

.  'T"..\h"fthe"cS^e  s  £tu  wo'^d  much  de- 
r.^?he  I'^dcSJ^of'^-me  of  these  malcontents,  and 
espedally  of  Mistress  deLacey.  .^ 

This  was  purely  ^J"™^^  °"J^^°  thi  reason 
part  to  discover,  if  possible  YXvSt^th  her  hus- 
L  Lady  Bellomont  s  Me  mt«^^^  .^  ^^^^^, 

band,  from  which  «I?^^^^^^e  him  no  informa- 
upon  his  entrance.    TheE^lgavemm 

tion.  however,  save  ^ '"P**'^"Jestthere  is  also  a 

%rvet^r  ^Ir^^'i -SnS^-  -- 

him  had  lost  his  senses.  -j  "  v>f>  pried  "vou 

"You  are  pleading  for  the  maid,    he  cned.    you 

^^*is"*^d'?iosser  Williams  firmly,  presmmng 
upon  W;  influence  with  ^e  ^v^o^  that^ 
fcttaSSr^^^-l^fllE^^thesol, 
condition  that  she  marry  me. 


CONDITIONAL  PARDON 


which  caused  the^^e  fa^  „?  thf^  ^*°'^^«"t. 
redden.    Then  he  ^Iti^L  y°^Ser  man  to 

'•By  all  the  gods^t  cSed™?;^  •^"^'^^f- 
^at  the,,  is  soiethin^in^S;  sLtVe^^fr 

young  Schuyler  had  ^fl/from  the  Sn'^n^'^P^^'^y: 
his  intervention  in  her  iSLlf  ?„h     """^^uences  of 

have  held  to  be  her  bitte!S'e^emr"^°"'  "'°"  ' 

hasSmyw^ito'&f  T"^'-  But  it 
which  I  have  once  7nte?e?  ^.ll!l  ^*  \«??*  "P«" 
freely  own  that  I  have K  bi^Pn  1 '  ^^""^  ^  ^^ 
which  gives  me  no  re^"  "^°  ^^  ^  '°^«  '"ania 

-^s^roSt'lCi^;tU,^i«««^ 

Sid  IfSnde^-eL^-i  J^-r  Sn^ 

fulness.  SoH  exSKaf'ir.'l^'''^"^^''^ 
could  be  easily  settled   if^»         u     ^^^"^  Jnatter 

be  very  easily  S^"o^t%°!  *«  agreement  could 
said,  with  the  fair  sex.  and  might  vei^  weuTgetThe 


n 


m 


if 

Ji 

I 


426    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

start  in  the  race  with  young  Schuyler,  who  to  Ws 
supercilious  mind  was  merely  a  Colonial,  ot  with 
Captain  Ferrers,  who  was  befwe  everything  ^ 
soldier.  Prosser  WiUiams  himself  was  ready  with 
the  assurance  that,  once  his  wife,  there  wp^d  be  no 
difficulty  whatever  in  managing  this  hitherto  re- 
fractory Papist.  There  was  a  gleam  in  his  eye  as  he 
spoke  and  a  cold  cruelty  in  his  aspect,  which  the 
Governor  noted,  but  which  did  not  prevent  him  from 
giving  his  assent  to  the  proposal,  saying: 

"Be  it  so,  then,  and  I  trust  I  shall  be  nd  forever 
of  this  troublesome  busings.  But  if  she  refuse  to 
accept  the  offer  of  pardon?" 

"We  can  make,  I  think,  sir,  such  demand  upon  the 
Spaniards,  amongst  whom,  as  I  opine,  she  has  taken 
refuge,  that  they  will  be  forced  to  give  her  up. 

So  Lord  Bellomont  signed  the  paper  which  the 
voung  officer  had  in  readiness,  hopmg  that  the 
pardon  thus  offered  would  also  please  his  wife. 
However,  he  inquired  of  Captain  Williams: 

"Was  not  this  maid's  troth  phghted  to  this 
Schuyler,  which  might  make  trouble  here?" 
■  "Her  ambitions  flew  higher,  su-,  declared  the 
officer,  "Her  design  was  to  wed  Egbert  Ferrers 
and  bring  him  over  with  her  to  the  Romidi  creed. 
His  Excellency's  face  grew  purple  at  this  truth, 
which  to  Prosser  Williams  was  only  a  surmise,  but 
which  would  have  created  such  a  scandal. 

"An  officer  of  my  Household  to  become  a  Papist! 
he  cried.    "The  outrageous  baggage,  I  have  a  mine 
to  put  her  in  a  dungeon,  or  let  them  hang  her,  i: 
they  will,  on  Salem  Hill." 

"You  have  promised,  sir,  to  let  me  be  her  gaoler, 
reminded  Prosser  Williams.  . 

"Aye,"  said  the  Governor,  "I  have  promised 


CONDITIONAL  PARDON 

his  wife  and  those  cuiW^^i^'P'^^  P'^^e  ^t  once 
to.  the  hint  from  the  SesfnS  ^^^'^  ^'^^"iing 
nussion  to  conciliate  quarters  it  was  now  his 


,t   ■*. 


CHAPTER  XV 

AN  OFFER  OP  MARRIAGE 

GOING  forth  with  the  document  to  which  His 
Excellency  had  appended  his  signature,  Pro^r 
WiUiams  was  sanguine  enough  to  hope  that,  ^  Cap- 
tdn  Ferrers  could  be  kept  out  of  the  ^^V' Evely° 
miEht  be  so  tired  of  the  loneUness  of  her  exile  as  to 
te  Sg  to  Usten  to  his  overtures     He  resolved 
^Tthe  bold  move  of  calling  in  the  fct  place  u^n 
l^dam  Van  Cortlandt.    He  approached  that  dweU- 
hie  with  mingled  feelings.     It  thrilled  hrni  with 
vagurstirrings%f  hope  and  at  the  same  tmie  with 
southing  of  the  blankness  of  despair.    For  theas- 
Sions  that  it  recalled  made  his  chances  seem 
dender  of  winning  the  love  of  a  girl  whom  he  l^d 
so  Shelly  ^nged  and  subjected  to  so  intolerable 
Tp^secution.    As  he  stood  a  moment  watching  the 
hoWT  which  had  suddenly  turned  mto  a  witness 
against  him,  he  felt  that  the  shadow  of  Evelyn  s 
Sfather  rose  between  him  and  the  object  oftus 
pursuit  as  he  could  never  have  done  in  hfe.    Only 
tbT^litary  hope  remained  that  she  might  xonsent 
to  n^  Wm  fOT  the  sake  of  a  pardon  which  would 
Z^^er  to  return  to  the  society  of  her  fnends 
So  the  places  for  which  she  had  always  fV^ 
so  warm  an  attachment.    He  did  not  know  h^  exact 
whereabouts,  which  was  in  a  convent  in  the  bpamsti 


AN  OFFER  OF  MARRIAGE         429 

Inf^  >,  strongly  suspicious.    He  was  ushprwl 

Defare  he  was  a  moment  in  the  room   that  ho  ifJ^' 

composure  and  tiim  tw,™  t;  j-  ,   °  retam  his 

vexXTtoThat  orEv^tyn"''^""^  '"^^^"^^  °^  «'°- 


J  J 


■II 


i 


p 
A 


<m 


9i        >  <    ,    I 


430    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

devotion  to  Mistress  de  Lacey,  which  had  never 
changed  nor  faltered,  even  in  the  face  of  her  bitter 
and  unjust  prejudice  against  him.  He  explained,  as 
he  believed  to  their  satisfaction,  all  that  had  taken 
place.  How  he  had  gone  to  Salem  for  the  purpose 
of  protecting  her,  and  had  again  boarded  the  "Hes- 
peria,"  with  the  sole  purpose — ^which  he  had  been 
obliged  to  keep  secret  from  his  associates — of  rescu- 
ing Evelyn  from  the  piratical  attack  of  Greatbatch. 
The  latter,  he  declared,  had  been  paid  by  certain 
fanatics  of  the  colony  to  secure  possession  of  Evelyn. 
Polly  blushed  a  deep  red  at  this  allusion,  for  she  felt 
certain  that  he  included  her  husband  amongst  them. 
Nor  coiJd  she  deny  such  an  allegation.  In  con- 
clusion, his  voice  trembling  with  emotion,  he  dis- 
played the  pardon,  which  he  had  himself  obtained 
from  the  Governor,  with  but  the  added  condition 
that  the  girl  should  become  his  wife.  On  no  other 
terms,  he  said,  would  Lord  Bellomont  listen  to  such 
a  petition.  He  appealed  to  each  of  his  hearers  in 
turn  to  take  note  that  he  was  acting  in  a  perfectly 
disinterested  manner,  and  was  willing,  for  the  sake 
of  an  unrequited  love,  to  risk  the  displeasure  of 
wealthy  relatives  and  even  of  the  Home  Govern- 
ment. 

Madam  Van  Cortlandt,  who  had  never  wavered 
in  her  opinion  of  the  man  and  of  the  methods  he  eni- 
ployed  in  his  pursuit  of  Evelyn,  could  not  but  admit 
the  sincerity  of  his  passion.  Nevertheless,  she  was 
totally  opposed  to  Ms  suit,  and  felt  convinced  that 
Evelyn  would  prefer  perpetual  exile  to  a  union  with 
this  suitor,  whom  the  old  lady  herself  both  disliked 
and  despised.  She  did  not,  however,  give  expression 
to  these  sentiments,  but  drily  inqxiired  in  what 
manner  could  be  arranged,  even  talong  the  consent 


AN  OFFER  OF  MARRIAGE  ,„ 

MadaTvi'^^.TtlLdT'S/^it-'^that   alone." 
insuperable.     Any  one  "^W'^^Y'    ^°"ld  prove 

Evelyn  deLace^LllvfmusriJ""^  ^'^^'^^ 
Prosser  Williams  redXtd^"!,*  ??,  t'^'^e  of  that.  " 

at  the  same  time  an  inau?,^<f  i  *"*  ^^  ^P'  tunung 
Now  that  young  ^S"Tf  f'^"?  ^^^^^^s  Polly^ 
grandmdther,  afd  wS^k^e^"^^"""?"*^  t''^"  her 
acquaintance  had  been  mL  f!       tf  ^^y^  °i  their 
ards  the  young  oS  ha^^f  T.^^  ^i^Posed  tow- 
her  attitude  tf w S  him     sie  t,^^^^^^'*'"^  « 
,^y  hjf  protestations  of  devoton^o^?  ''"^'^^d 
she  knew  to  be  genuine  ^dhv  v    ^''^'y"'  ^^ich 
the  part  he  had  played  in  ,„h^  ^^  explanation  of 
i^d  had  no  commotion  &"f"*  ?^|?*«-    She 
Pieter  Schuyler,  and  b»^A    *-^?Ptam  Ferrers  or 
m  ignorance  of  ihdr  jS  K^^*-""  ^^^  ^^P*  her 
and  their  knowledge^Pro^^^  ^,?"«  transactions 
schemes.     Hence,  when  tJ^^«  ^ilhams'  nefarious 
the  pardon,  she  had^^UTf  "^  displayed 
pect  of  enjoying  Qn^^S^»    ^  •*°''^^"  the  pfos 
fnend    to  Xm^  The  ,^1  T'*^  Iher  de^t 
Excdlency's  Household  w3d  1^"^J'?*=^  ^  ^^ 
which  would  silence  th;  mSh^.^'^'l^''  ^  P^stige 
of  h«-  husband  includ^    °j5^°f^''\to°g"es,  that 
the  pleasurable  antidmtion  ^^^  ^^  ^<^^  in 


ft, 
a 


43*    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

could  not  beUeve  that  any  difficulty  would  arise. 
She  fancied  that  it  would  be  a  very  easy  thing  for 
her  friend  to  appear  on  the  Sabbath  in  the  nave  of 
Trinity  Church  with  this  brilliant  young  officer  at 
her  side,  and  herself  an  appanage  of  the  guberna- 
torial estebUshment,  even  if  she  chose  to  practise 
her  own  reUgion,  as  she  had  hitherto  done,  in 

Pro'sser  Williams  caught  the  sparkle  of  her  dark 
eyes  and  the  smile  which  she  now  quite  wilhngly 
accorded  him.  and  he  knew  that,  in  so  far  as  she  was 
concerned,  his  case  was  won.  Her  influence  with  her 
friend,  which  could  only  be  by  correspondence,  he 
felt  sure  would  be  altogether  upon  his  side.  As  for 
Madam  Van  Cortlandt,  her  manner,  no  less  than  the 
decisive  tone  of  her  last  remark,  gave  him  but  httle 
hone  He  intuitively  felt  that  he  had  not  prevailed 
at^  with  her.  It  was  only  at  Polly's  earnest  en- 
treaty that  she  consented  to  forward  the  conditional 
pardon  to  Evelyn,  together  with  a  letter  from  the 
detested  suitor,  though  she  utterly  refused  to  d^s^ 
close  the  fugitive's  place  of  refuge.  And  wth  that 
concession  Prosser  WiUiams  had  to  be  ^ti^ed. 

When  Mistress  Evelyn  de  Lacey  refused  in  the 
most  emphatic  manner  to  accept  the  amnesty  which 
had  been  offered  on  such  conditions,  her  letter  pro- 
duced on  the  minds  of  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  and 
her  granddaughter  a  precisely  opposite  ^fect.  men 
Evdyn  declared  that,  leaving  Captain  Prosser  Will- 
iams and  his  odious  proposal  of  mamage  out  of  the 
question  altogether,  it  would  be  imposable  to  give 
up  her  faith  that  was  dearer  thai  nfe  and  for  which 
she  would  gladly  suffer  martyrdom,  the  elder  lady 
saw  therein  the  expression  of  a  noble  nature,  bhe 
admitted  that  it  was  just  what  she  would  have  ex- 


m 


AN  OFFER  OF  MARRIAGE  ,,, 

othI'^:h?°S|?'tfK£  11:  "-  not  like 
«nd,t  is  unthinkable  ^^yi°tW^^«"™«nt. 
J^ -sented  to  "^^^  X? tlS^^^^^ 

was  unreasonably  s^tu^bSiT^  h'"'^  ^'^"t  Ev^ 
!»?»•  And  as  to  the  quej^on  o^^?'^^"'"^  ^^^"^ 
pnsed  her  grandmothpr  =  ^  •  "^''Pon.  PoUy  sa-- 
had  always^™^\«j''^nd  just^ed^t^^ 

fanatical  husband  uoon  af ,-!     ''*.  «^«ence  of  her 
^.  "Henricus  S^s  "  Poll^  ""pressionable  nature 
bitterness,  "thariho^T  ^?^^  ^^^h  with  great 
ha«d  folk:  who  pi^X  ter^  ^.y  ^d  «S 

"But  my  deS  d^d  "  J?i\Pon  «  secret." 
aghast,  "how  can  theyloothT™-  ^^^S^dmother 
profession  or  practice  is  forbS^"*  ^^^!^  aU  public 
^^P  and  the  -i^SV^-f ,^^^5? 
^^PoUy  was  in  no  mood  tohear  reason  and  continued 

wha^^sScf^i^^LTS  ^'  .'--s  Of 
undermine  the  State    t^  7T      .  ^  "«  Plotting  to 

^d   to  found   tftoSir!:?S'n*-t-^"'^^t-nt? 
CO  omes  with  the  Poj^TRnn,^^*'?"'"  ">  th«^ 

"Why,"   exclaimSl    fS       °™^  *^  "»!«." 

tressed,^:they2^„^^"'«  .f^dmother  much  dis- 

.,  "Their  nuLb^  no  nf^^lf'^'Poo'- and  scattered." 

and  they  are^Wver^-  ^°^^'    declared  PoUv 

Canada."         ^^""^"^  mtnguing  with  the  French  of 

"Can  you  believe,"  inquired  the  grandmother 


iJv :! 


434  GERALD  db  LACEVS  DAUGHTER 

rtemlv  "that  Evelyn,  who  even  in  trifles  is  the  soul 
Stonor.  Imd  thatch-minded  gentleman,  her  Ute 
father,  were  engaged  m  such  conspiracies  f 

"I  believe  riught  against  Evelyn,"  Mid  PoUy. 
"save  that,  being  herself  deceived,  she  did  the  work 
oUhe  J^uits  in  leading  the  Wilden  to  Popery  and  so 
to  leaeue  with  the  French."  „     .     j,^     .. 

"K"  demanded  Madam  Van  Cortlandt,  "you 
could'  credit  these  fables,  would  it  not  be  a  aime 
aeainst  the  State  to  bring  so  dangerous  a  person  back 
toX  cdony.  or  for  an  officer  of  the  Household  to 

•^uf "■  she  were  once  of  the  Protestant  faith?" 

^°??fflS^  never  be,"  Madam  Van  C^andt 
declared  decidedly,  "and  to  put  an  end  ^  all  ti^^ 
Sssions  I  will  teU  you,  though  as  a  matt«  wtach 
it  is  advisable  stUl  to  keep  secret,  that  she  is  the 
betrothed  wife  of  an  honorable  gentleman,  and  one 
who  is  to  ^  way  worthy  of  her,  Captam  Egbert 

^^Xeven  before  this  astounding  Mmounc«nent^ 
Polly's  indignation  had  vanish^!.  And  P«sently  hw 
^^tiSent  expended  itself  in  a  shower  of  tears. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


THE  CLOSE   OF   A  RioiME 

pUT  for  those  even!:;  which  shaU  presentlv  h« 

f^^^'^'  *^^  '«  ^^^^  doubt  Omt  n^Sble^ 

would  have  been  in  store  for  Evdyn  V  Ucev 

£^^.:^''w?,"'^'^*i'"«  ^^  malignant  actfviS 
FW«  Wilhams  and  that  infatuation  of  hirwWdi 

iSw^ndoi"^-  ."'«  "-^.  Captain  F^S 
was  Kept  in  close  unpnsonment,  thoueh  throuph 
^e  mtervention  of  Lady  BeUomont  Zd  His  eS 
hl^^y  °^  partiality  for  his  favorite  officer  there 
had  ,been  a  considerable  mitigation  of  tf,e  fim 
seventy  of  his  confinement.  hI  was  ^rmitted  to 
oc^py  a  room  in  the  Fort.  and.  but  f^r^e  iJflS 

reSTa  J^^u't'y^^  ^^  ^^^  debarred  from 
returning  to  Manhattan,  and  was  therefore  oower- 
less  to  do  anything  in  the  girl's  interest        ^ 

Meanwhde  the  peace  of  the  colony  continued  to 
bed«turbed  by  internecine  feuds,  and  by  an  active 
pereecutaon   of   what   was   called   the  LSStlc 

K'  «*?^  ""T^l  °^  ^^^J^  ^'P'  ^ve  th^  Son 
of  the  struggle  and  were  prepared  to  do  battJe  ^th 
aUand  sundry.  The  anti-Popery  laws  werTi^re 
stnngent  than  ever,  both  theJ^in  mL^cJiu^Us 
£  wL°w^  New  England  coionies,  Xk  mS?! 
^d  was  bemg  made  notorious  by  aU  mannerbf 
oppressive  acts  against  Catholics  and  a  war^^nst 


^ 


436    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 


the  Jesuits,  who  in  the  first  councils  of  the  Lord 
Baltimore,  the  earUest  and  amongst  the  best  of  the 
Calverts,  had  established  religious  liberty  and  made 
that  colony  the  true  "land  of  sanctuary.  Never  m 
the  world's  history  had  been  chronicled  a  more 
flagrant  case  of  injustice  than  the  treatment  whidi 
was  meted  out  to  CathoUcs  in  that  corner  of  the 
New  World,  where  they  and  they  alone  had  given 
unrestricted  freedom  to  all. 

Richard,  Earl  of  Bellomont,  had  during  his  whole 
administration  done  his  worst  in  that  direction,  and 
had,  as  he  beUeved,  been  largely  successfd  m  weed- 
ing out  Popery  and  dealing  harshly  with  all  who  pre- 
sumed to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of 
their  conscience.  He  had  also  dealt  sternly  with  the 
illicit  traders,  especially  after  the  ignommous  failure 
of  his  amateur  navy,  wherein  the  notonous  Captain 
Kidd  had  figured.  He  had  made  the  most  vexatious 
restrictions  upon  trade  so  as  to  drive  the  larger 
merchants  to  desperation.  A  gloom  seemed  to  have 
fallen  over  Manhattan.  All  those  bnlhant  parties 
which  my  Lady  had  given  at  the  Fort,  with  negro 
minstrels  playing  on  the  balcony,  were  suspended. 
Social  amusements,  even  amongst  the  pleasure- 
loving  Dutch,  were  almost  at  a  standstiU.  Irrita- 
tion, anxiety,  mutual  ill-will  prevailed  everywhwe. 

In  the  midst  of  it  all  came  the  news  from  Wtate- 
hall  that  my  Lord  BeUomont  was  seriously  lU.  Con- 
sternation was  general,  especially  amongst  those 
who  had  approved  of  his  policy  and  supported  lus 
strong  measures.  At  Der  HalU  men  talked  «»  sub- 
dued whispers  of  the  crisis  that  might  be  at  hand. 
Even  Greatbatch  was  impressed,  and  reduced  to 
something  like  sUence,  though  of  late  he  had  been 
more  snarling  than  ever  since  the  failure  of  his  late 


''mm 


THE  CLOSE  OF  A  RfiGIME        437 

^«e  sum  he  Sad  p^S  Kh?''  *°  P^^  '^'^  the 
de  Lacey.  GreatC^^?L^^f,  ^  '^^"''^  of  Evelyn 
kept  up  a  sullen  and  omTno^°"  ,  '^""'**  ' '""  '^ 
dared  not  raise  above  a  wS  '  -y"'^  '^'f  ^  J» 
than  his  group  of  worthies  irifT  ',  ,'"  '^^^  ^"'^'t 
ever  immunity  he  eniovS  t^  •^'"'•*  ^'''^  ^^'t'-'t- 
officer's  protection^^^*^  ^^  ^•^'"3  '^  t^'^'  .  .iig 

Mynheer  de  Vries  st-i«ii«,i  • 
sfeking  for  news!    He  S  l^l ''"'  "'  '  ^"^'''^^^'y. 
since  he  played  the^^  of  K  :;„  V'J  ^'  "^^  •"«; 
the  mnocent  to  go^wwn^      n"'   ^''''  ^^^-^d 
seemed  smaller  and  cW^ffih J ^^.    '"^"'V  eyes 
very  figu^  seemed  to  Sve  C^i*5^  ^^^'-    His 
lost  something  of  his  suavlcor^fff ''^  ^"^  •>«  had 
one  except  Captain  Pro^I^r T^^f'^'  '*'°"«h  "° 
his  transgression.    The  delth  ^  aT^  V^  ^^^re  of 
fected  him  unpleasantly,  and  a^^h^J^^^  Lacey  af- 
of  an  evening  on  the  ealle^  t'i,f  f!  s^iplfed  his  pipe 
house  and  garden  S^^''^'l*.°^  the  desertS 
SP<»Ued  how  ple^^K  "C  ^  ^P^ts.     He 
Evelyn  amongstXflowe^  1  ^l!^"  *°  ^  ^'^ti^ss 
the  street.    He  was  Sw  f^f^^^  "P  and  down 
his  wife,  who  w^Kd^v  ..T'^.^^^^tingwith 

dared  not  give  it  outwSL?=^'^.*.;  *''°"«h  she 
praised  Evelyn  was  at  .  d?.?.  '  ''5' *^^  ""^h- 
speedily  forgotten  a^  she  hn^^^'-*"''  ""^  being 
other  affairs  bIS'^^  •  ^°^'^'  '"  the  press  of 
self  ameS  Sfthe  Vw 'ThI''?  ^^  ^'^  "^^e  he?! 
one,  and  there  we^  few  iL^^'^  J"^  ^  ""^e 
upon  the  offender?teautya^5.>,r"^  *°  '^^Patiate 
ments.  Even  her  SestlriPn^^.""  a^^complish- 
now  be  content  to  SibS  h  '  ''  '^^^'  ""ust 
passed  out  of  thek  hvS  ^'  °"^  ^''°  had 


<f:: 


m 


;i 


438    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

There  was  a  gatheiing  at  the  house  of  Ma^ 
Van  Cortlandt  on  one  of  those  evenings  shortly  after 
thTn^  oonceming  His  ExceUency  had  been  made 
tmbUc     On  that  occasion  there  were  no  Leislenans 
?^t,  sfintense  had  grown  the  feeUng  between  ^e 
parties,  save  of  course  Henncus  La"«f  ^  J^^'^.^J^ 
erandmother  would  not  consent  to  exclude.    But  he 
CffiS  isolated.   Cold  looks.  cMtlingavdit^ 
and  curt  nods  of  recognition,  from  those  who  had 
on^  teen  intimate  friends.  fiUed  him  with  resent- 
ment.   He  sulked  and  glowered,  laughed  spitefid 
Khs.  and  let  fall  many  a  bitter  jibe.    His  nund 
w^  bAsy  with  the'thought  of  how  through  tiiem- 
fluence  of  Captain  WiUiams.  Nanfan,  and  the  rest 
he^^d  work  injury  to  those  arrogant JacUomsts 
who  dared  to  slight  him.    He  was  glad  when  he  won 
Sd^  money  at  itnsquenet.  and  funous  when  he  lost 
In    the    midst   of    it    all.   Mynheer    de   Vnes 
entered  the  room  and  stood  scrutin.-ug  the  card- 
teb^  where  the  wax  lights  cast  cunous  shad- 
ows  on  the  faces  of  the  players,  eadi  ^th  his  pue 
offishes  beside  him  to  mark  the  golden  guilders  he 
was  winning  or  losing.    The  newcomer  was  wonder- 
ine  as  he  looked  about  the  handsome  room,  how  that 
wfich  he  had  to  teU  would  affect  the  various  persons 
oresent.    He  waited  for  a  fitting  pause  m  the  game 
^advancing  to  the  hostess,  bowed  low  over  her 
hand    The  various  players  at  the  tables  glanced  up 
curiously.    Those  near  gave  him  greetmg.  but  aU 
were  plainly  anxious  to  resume  their  game.    Myn- 
^  drVries  said  to  Madam  Van  Cortlandt,  m  a 
voice  which  was  heard  all  over  the  room: 
"His  ExceUency,  my  Lord  Bellomont,  died  half 

^'^TteS" dropped  from  the  players'  hands  simul- 


iM|^| 


THE  CLOSE  OF  A  REGIME         439 

TW  ?t,*°  *^^  ^"^  announcing  his  demise." 

were  heard  without  on  the  paveS,  and  preSv 

mont  Barl^f  Excelleney  Richard.  Earl  of  BeUo- 
Jn^  AT  ?  ^  Cooloney,  Governor  of  New  York 
and  Massachusetts,  Captain  General,  etc.  That  w2 
wh^M^  1 7oi,_  memorable  to  some  of  thostS 
whom  this  narrative  is  concerned.    AwestSi^d 

f,,^of*^.^v*?  ^1°^  ^^"^  took  place  a  pompous 
fcvorlt'd  M^'  magnificence  of  the  coCeTof 
flaKon^h^™  w^^'^'"''^""  ^^  exhausted.  The 
Lin  fL*tP""":5"^  ">a"^ private buildings,as  weU 
^on  the  ships  m  the  harbor,  were  at  half-mit     The 

Sp  ''Zo^'^rl'^''  *°"^^  «"*  '^«  the^'oi  Jof 
fnr?»,i  ^'  V^^^  *^«'  however,  little  sorr-w 
whnilV^"^  °^  ""y  ^^d  Bellomon  ,  save  in  tW 
whose  fortunes  were  directly  affected  by  Ws  d^thT 
Stem  and  unlovable,  his  qualities  for  good  or^Si 


i. 


440  GERALD  de  LACEVS  DAUGHTER 

were  not  such  as  to  attract  populw  affection.    If 
he  were  honest  and  sincere  in  his  efforts  at  reform, 
as  so  many  averred  and  as  was  probably  true  he 
awakened  stormy  passions   stirred  contending  f^- 
tions  into  bitter  hatred  of  each  other,   and  had 
cultivated  by  every  means  m  his  PO''?^.  t»«tj;^ 
crop  of  persecution  against  Catholics  which  it  took 
all  the  years  tiU  the  American  Revolution  to  weed 
out     A  strong  man,  wielding  a  considerable  power 
for  evil,  whether  intentionally  or  not,  a  cholenc 
and  a  masterful  man,  he  lay  still  now  withm  the 
coffin  under  the  massive  sUver  plate  which  recorded 
thedates  of  birth  and  death.    The  reins  o    power 
fallen  from  his  hands,  only  the  imquitous  laws  he 
had  passed  accompanied  him  as  accusing  spints  to 
the  Throne  of  the  All-seeing  God,  with  but  the  pl^ 
of  inmcible  ignorance,  if  that  could  be  admitted, 
and  th^  prayers  of  those  whom  he  had  bitterly  per- 
secuted, to  help  him.  ^„„„o„f 
The  streets  were  crowded  to  witness  that  pageant, 
brilliant  with  the  unifoims  of  soldiers  and  sailors 
Every  face  amongst  the  spectators  bore  traces  of 
a  different  emotion,  for  each  was  wondenng  how  this 
great  change  would  affect  that  atom  of  the  umverse 
which  is  c^ed  self.    Some  few  there  werejvho  gave 
r  thought  to  the  State,  and  a  still  smaUer  handful  of 
^r  and  obscure  people  wondered  it  the  demise  of 
the  late  Governor  would  give  any  rehef  to  the  re- 
ligion which  the  dead  man  had  striven  to  dnve  from 
t?at  comer  of  the  earth.    The  Wilden  sent  their  de- 
achment  of  stalwart  chiefs  to  the  bun^  of  ttor 
"Brother  Corlear "— some  bowed  and  old  and  them- 
selves hastening  to  the  eternal  hunting  grounds, 
Others  alert  and  eager     Captain  Pros^^L^m^^ 
an  impressive  figure  in  his  glittermg  uniform,  walked 


"irHEL" 


THE  CXOSE  OF  A  REGIME         441 

amongst  the  mourners— a  mourner  probably  he  was 
tor  the  position  he  was  losing  and  for  the  failure  of 
niany  a  hope  and  many  a  scheme.    He  was  ponder- 
ing, as  he  walked,  what  would  be  the  temper  of  the 
nest  Governor,  and  if  it  would  be  possible  to  retain 
his  place  m  the  Household  and  so  give  time  for  the 
execution  of  his  various  plans  and  of  the  ventures 
with  Greatbatch  and  others  by  which  he  hoped  to 
retneve  his  fortunes.    Above  aU,  he  was  still  eager 
tor  the  possession  of  Mistress  Evelyn  de  Lacey  and 
he  cursed  the  evil  fortune  which  had  brought  about 
the  death  of  Lord  Bellomont  just  when  he  was  about 
to  reach  out  the  long  arm  of  arbitrary  power  to 
secure  the  person  of  the  girl.    Madam  Van  Cortlandt 
was  with  Polly  in  the  family  carriage,  driven  by 
the  pompous  coachman  and  with  Jumbo  hanging 
on  by  the  straps.    The  minds  of  the  two  were  turn 
mg  reminiscently  to  that  April  morning  when,  with 
iivelyn  de  Lacey,  they  had  watched  the  arrival  of 
this  very  Governor  in  all  the  pride  of  place  and 
power. 

Looking  out  upon  the  funeral  pageant  from  the 
room  m  the  Fort  where  he  was  now  imprisoned 
Captain  Ferrers,  pale  and  haggard  from  his  long 
confinement,  met  the  glance  of  Prosser  Williams 
who  was  glancing  upwards.  It  was  a  strange  long 
look  which  the  two  men  exchanged,  a  look  replete 
with  many  emotions.  They  too,  like  Madam  Van 
Cxjrtlandt  and  Polly,  suddenly  bethought  themselves 
ot  that  mormng  just  three  years  before,  when  the 
whole  town  was  in  jubilation  at  the  arrival  of 
Richard,  Earl  of  Bellomont.  Bo<:h  were  posses.sed 
by  the  thought  of  Evelyn  as  she  had  then  first  ap- 
peared to  them,  and  her  image  still  seemed  to  dom- 
inate the  scene,  as  though  she  were  really  present 


442    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

There  was  a  memorial  service  for  the  dead, 
solemn  hymns  and  canticles  being  sung  and  prayers 
offered,  though  not  for  him.  It  was  a  solemn  but 
ineffectual  service,  and  at  its  close  the  body  of  the 
late  Governor  was  lowered  into  its  grave  imder  the 
chapel  of  the  Fort,  although  it  was  later  buried  in 
St.  Paul's  churchyard.  A  few  years  more  and  the 
plate  from  his  coflan  was  sold  to  relic-hunters  for  a 
museum. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THB  RETURNED  EXILE 

T"HE  weeks  and  months  of  amnVtv  or„i  . 

one  of  the  w^est  «^  m^^  ^'j^"^'^  Governor, 
ruler.,  Lord  S^T  1^^ hT." "''  of  Colonial 
ment.    It  is  neeS't^H^fi  'T'  °^  «°^e™- 

that  were  told Tf  wfatoiS  ."P°"  ^^^  ^"^  *«!«« 
and  vicious  habL  ofT^„  '^    ?'  ^^  °^  *h«  »<"« 

will  was  cl^S?nt  ^HLbleni'sran'H  ^"^'"^^ 
tence.  Of  such  high  ra^  ^  tn  ^ '  ^^  mcompe- 
with  royalty,  he  disL^^p^  "^  connected  even 
tr^p/d  at^hi^^p,t'^rS„^^«Sgr"*'°°  ^' 

the  Leislenans  and  cauw^rl  ti,«.  „_Z!  P™9^«iingi  of 


444    GERALD  M  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

ihowed  doors  and  wi«<lows  open  once  more.  MistrMS 
Evelyn,  garbed  now  in  simple  black,  was  in  the 
garden,  busy  with  the  flowers  that  strayed  over  the 
paths.    It  was  her  mission  to  restore  them  once  more 

to  order.  . 

As  Mynheer  de  Vries  passed  by,  he  saw  that  grace- 
ful figure,  half  hidden  by  the  vines,  the  rambler 
roses  and  the  peonies.     Evelyn's  face    when  die 
turned  it  towards  him,  had  lost  httle  of  its  beauty, 
though  the  traces  were  plainly  perceptible  there  ot 
all  tlmt  she  had  endured  and  of  that  saddest  and  most 
grievous  experience  by  which  she  had  been  de- 
prived of  her  father.    At  first  he  felt  a  constraint, 
a  certain  reluctance  in  approaching  her,  remembering 
his  part  in  that  last  tragic  occurrence.    Then  he  re- 
membered that  only  one  man  could  charge  him  with 
compUdty  in  that  afiEair,  and  it  was  most  unbkely 
that  he  would  ever  have  the  opportumty  of  revealing 
the  secret  to  Mistress  de  Lacey.    It  was  accordingly 
with  his  smoothest  and  most  plausible  manner  that 
Mvnheer  approached  the  gate  to  express  his  dehght 
at  the  return  of  so  deUghtful  a  neighbor.    Evelyn 
returned  his  salutations  gravely,  indeed,  but  with 
the  f riendUness  that  she  manifested  towarck  all  who 
were  connected  with  the  old,  happy  life  of  that  town, 
whose  every  stick  and  stone  was  dear  to  her.    bhe 
extended  her  hand  with  a  gracious  invitation  to 
enter.    This  Mynheer  dedined,  but  he  hastened  to 
impart  to  her  a  piece  of  news  which  he  hoped  would 
be  singularly  agreeable  to  her. 

"You  had  some  acquaintance,"  he  began,  with 
Captain  Prosser  Williams,  who  was  a  member  ot 
His  late  Excellency's  Household?" 

Evelyn  turned  away  her  face  to  conceal  the  emo- 
tions excited  by  the  mention  of  that  name.    But, 


^mmM 


THE  RETURNED  EXILE  445 

apparently  busied  with  her  flowers,  she  answered 
quietly: 

"TT'  ^  ***^  ^""^  acquaintance  with  him." 
■  *  iJ^'^i  L^""  awakening  associations  of  a 
painful  nature,"  Mynheer  went  on,  "but  some  facts 
concermng  that  young  gentleman  may  be  of  interest  " 
No  fact  concermng  him  can  interest  me  either 
now  or  at  any  future  time,"  Evelyn  burst  forth 
impetuoudy. 

"You  wll  pardon  me,  however,  a  last  reference 
to  him  and  his  affau^,"  the  inveterate  newsmonger 
insisted.  It  IS  merely  to  make  known  to  you  that 
he  has  become  amenable  to  the  laws  of  this  province 
and  that  through  the  contrivance  of  those  whom  his 
msolent  manner  has  offended,  or  who  like  myself 
were  aware  of  his  more  serious  misdemeanors,  he 
has  been  at  last  brought  to  book." 

Mynheer  hoped  for  some  expression  of  the  girl's 
satisfaction  at  tliis  intelligence.  But  the  young  girl's 
face  gave  no  clue  to  her  thoughts,  and  she  rernJned 
silent.  He  proceeded  to  inform  her  that  the  young 
man  by  his  wild  extravagance,  profligacy  and  losses 
at  the  gaming  table  had  accumulated  debts  which 
had  caused  his  arrest.  Mynheer  did  not  precisely 
state,  though  he  allowed  it  to  be  inferred,  that  it 
was  through  his  agency  that  wires  had  been  pulled 
to  procure  his  imprisonment  and  the  consequences 
aiat  foUowed.  The  merchant  had  never  forgiven 
hun  for  his  demeanor  on  that  memorable  evening 
at  Uer  Halle,  and  for  the  loss  of  self-respect  which 
m  so  far  as  he  himself  was  concerned,  had  been  the 
result. 

Ifence  he  had  seized  a  favorable  opportunity  tr 
brmg  the  various  debtors  down  on  their  prey  like 
vultures,   and  to  ensure  other  and   more  serious 


446    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

charges  being  brought  against  the  culprit.  On 
being  i>romiMd  immimity,  Greatbatch,  who  had 
many  a  score  of  his  own  to  settle,  was  ready  to  give 
every  evidence  in  his  power  against  the  accused  and 
to  prove  conclusively  that  he  had  been  deeply  in- 
volved in  illicit  traffic.  Lord  Combury,  who  was 
little  likely  to  proceed  to  any  great  lengths  against 
smugglers  or  any  other  class  of  malefactors,  so  long 
as  they  did  not  ir'  -fere  with  hi?  schemes  for  per- 
sonal advantage,  ' '  ueverthele"w  delighted  to  press 
any  charge  agair.  i.  one  who  had  been  so  intimately 
connected  wiSi  t^-e  last  administration. 

"I  know  too  well,"  ventured  Mynheer  after  a 
pause,  "what  a  baleful  influence  he  has  exerted 
over  your  fortunes.  He  was  your  enemy  from  first 
to  last,  while — I  humbly  pray  you  to  forgive  the 
allusion — aspiring  to  be  more  than  a  friend.  Such 
pretensions  mi^t  be  readily  understood  and  would 
have  been  pardonable,  had  he  pursued  a  legitimate 
path  to  attain  so  enviable  an  end." 

A  wave  of  color,  similar  to  that  which  dyed  the 
roses  on  the  vine  beside  her,  crept  into  Evelyn's 
cheeks,  but,  when  she  spoke,  it  was  with  a  haughti- 
ness which  caused  Mynheer  to  feel  that  he  had  been 
indiscreet. 

"Such  ptirely  personal  matters,"  she  said,  "are 
not  fit  subjects  for  discussion,  and  certainly  cannot 
be  of  any  interest  now." 

Mynheer  was  disappointed,  for  he  had  been  really 
anxious  to  get  ftuther  information  as  to  the  exact 
actent  of  Prosser  Williams'  interest  in  this  girl.  He 
began  again  more  slowly  and  impressively,  because 
of  the  rehxiS  that  had  been  contained  in  Evelyn's 
words,  though  they  were  soltened  by  that  smile  which 
to  men  £aid  women  alike  could  be  so  winning. 


THE  RETURNED  EXILE  447 

^P.  'Victory,'  having  on  »SJi  cJSn'''^^^ 

rd^v^  do  not  intervene,  his  punidiaent'^li 

Triumph  and  exultation  were  in  the  soeakprV 
1  °",f:^  T^'  ^y  °^  ^'  vengeance  had  artved^^  he 
^ked  for  corresponding  sentiments  iTws  listener 
£«nf  P-'"  '^'  '"J:^"^  [^'>^f  ^*^^h  she  ^,Sd  not  help 
feehng,  since  mo  had  been  sorely  afraid  of  new  ^F 
secutions  set  on  foot  by  that  unrelentri  enemv 
Hntf/ 1  w  .T""^""^  °^  ^"  ^'"Otion  of  pity  for  The 
1°^^^  .?^  *****  ""'^  •'""iant  young  officer  For 
fuL?f  til"  T  ^"^^^'y  °^  diaraf  teTwWch  r^-  ' 
enfmy         '  ^^"^"^  '"  ^'^^  misfortunes  of  a  f^^n 

of  "hl^^"^  f '5'ji^!:"  Mynheer  said,  "are  happily  rid 
rJ^-  ,"^'«''  he  piously  added,  "as  tl^  Gcwd 
Book  declares,  'the  way  of  the  trans^ssor  is  hardT  " 
As  for  transgressions,"  said  Evelyn  "which  of 
us  are  free  from  them  ?"  ^  '  ^  °* 

Now  this  remark,  as  well  as  the  young  girl's  dis 

pST*^^^*"V"^^'   «^«y   Perturb^S^Ciheer 
For  he  feared  that  through  her  late  fatW   ™.  J^i 

o^^"  r*^-  ^^  had'become  cog2^tnt'o7ws 
?W^^'*'°"'  ^^'^  Gieatbatch,  as  weU  as  wi^h 

foi^^-  w".  '^"S  Ignorant  of  the  state  of  af- 

ff^L5!!lf^  ^J?*^  ^^^'yn  ^d  Captain  Ferrere 
It  occmred  to  him  that  the  damsel's  fancy  St 

rf^^Wr?"f/,f^'^^  ^  ^y  «>«  brilliant  Kge 
of  that  bmi  of  foUy.  who  had  now  faUen  into  the 


I 


if.  ill 


448    GERALD  DE  LACEVS  DAUGHTER 

fowler's  snare.  In  which  case  he  would  have  shown 
a  most  lamentable  want  of  tact  in  coming  to  her  with 
such  disastrous  information.  Perhaps  she  was  less 
disposed  to  rejoice  than  to  mourn  for  Prosper  Will- 
iams, who  had  been  her  consistent  admirer  ever 
since  his  arrival  in  the  colony.  "Women,"  Mynheer 
reflected,  "are  strange  beings,  and  who  could  tell?" 

Being  anxious  to  solve  Ws  own  doubts,  however, 
he  ventured  further: 

"He  was  your  dangerous  enemy,"  he  observed, 
"as  I  had  some  occasion  to  know." 

"Yes,"  assented  Evelyn,  suddenly,  "he  was  my 
most  dangerous  enemy,  and,  as  you  say,  Manhattan 
is  well  rid  of  him.    And  yet — " 

Mynheer  looked  at  her  inquiringly: 

"One  may  have  some  grains  of  pity  for  a  fallen 
enemy,  since  the  best  of  us.  Mynheer,  are  weak  and 
worthless." 

Mynheer's  enthusiasm  was  thoroughly  chilled. 
Her  attitude  was  one  which  he  could  in  no  wise  under- 
stand, and  he  was  haunted  by  the  suspicion  that  she 
was  far  more  fully  informed  than  he  had  believed 
possible  as  to  his  own  transgressions.  He  presently 
bade  her  a  ceremonious  good-moming,  and  left  her 
to  resume  her  work  in  the  neglected  garden  with  a 
deep  sadness  in  her  heart.  For  the  information 
that  he  had  been  at  such  pains  to  give,  while  re- 
lieving her  of  a  cruel  anxiety,  had  brought  back  a 
host  of  memories.  She  recalled  how  the  malice  of 
her  unscrupidous  foe,  now  severely  punished,  had 
brought  about  the  death  of  her  dear  father,  and,  as 
trifles  will  rectu:  to  the  mind  even  in  the  gravest 
moments,  she  mas  reminded  of  the  day  when  she 
had  first  noticed  Captain  Prosser  Williams  upon  the 
Bowling  Green,  and  of  that  other  occasion,  when 


THE  RETURNED  EXILE  449 

If  ^  ^^cteristic  insolence  he  had  appeared  at  the 
S^t,!^^''u'"^  E"^^  *"<^  had  been  so  sternly 
6^^  ^i(  ^V^^^i.  ^^^  ^^'^  *°  "^  *«  noble 
«Sn.-!  .    '"?T,'  *?,*•*  ?**^  **  **'*'  '*«5'  window, 

tam  and  for  that  past  in  which  they  had  been  so 


m 


MICROCOPY   (ESOIUTION   TEST   CHART 

(ANSI  ond  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


1.0    HI-  li^ 


^  APPLIED  \hMGE    Inc 

^S-^  1653  East   Mam    Slreet 

S^S  Rochester.    Htm    York  14609        USA 

*-^g  (716)   *a2  -  0300  -  Phone 

^=  (716)   288  -  5989  -Fa. 


,1' 


f' 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


PINXTER  MORN 


MANHATTAN  was  at  its  gayest.  The  trees, 
dressed  in  their  most  exquisite  costumes  of 
feathery  green,  tossed  their  branches  merrily,  ex- 
haUng  the  fresh  odor  of  new  verdure;  the  gardens 
were  ablaze  with  the  midsxunmer  glory  of  flowers 
— ^roses  of  every  hue,  nasturtiums,  pinks,  peonies, 
phlox.  Sweet  William  and  mignonette  filled  all 
the  beds  or  strayed  over  the  paths;  flowering  shrubs, 
late  Hngering  Ulac  and  syringa  perfumed  all  the  air; 
wistaria,  clematis  and  rambler  roses  made  festive 
all  the  trellises.  The  people  of  the  town  rivalled 
the  flowers  in  their  bright-hued  garments.  Faces 
were  ra(Uant,  as  if  the  gloom  and  darkness  of  the 
late  troublous  times  had  passed;  there  was  the  laugh- 
ter of  happy  children  mingUng  with  the  songs  of  the 
birds.  For  it  was  Pinxter  day,  to  which  the  elders, 
only  less  eagerly  than  the  little  folk,  had  been  look- 
ing forward  for  weeks.  Picnics  were  arranged  on 
every  hand,  by  boat,  by  carriage,  or,  for  the  less 
favored  ones  of  fortune,  on  foot.  The  peregrina- 
tions of  these  latter  extended  no  farther  than  some 
spot  by  the  river  in  the  Wolfert's  Valley,  or  in  the 
comparatively  rural  quietude  of  Greenwich  Village. 
Some  there  were  who  drove  in  heavy  family  coaches 
up  along  the  Hudson,  through  Westchester  or  to 


PINXTER  MORN  451 

&tate°"^"  of  the  patroons  in  the  very  heart  of  the 

Young  Vrow  Laurens,  who  was  to  form  part  of  a 
large  gathenng  of  friends  consisting  chiefly  of  the 
Van  Cortlandts  and   Laurens*  relatives  and  con- 
nections was  going  to  spend  the  day  at  the  country 
house  of  Nicholas  Bayard.     She  came  over  quite 
early  m  the  forenoon  to  throw  her  arms  around  the 
neck  of  Evelyn  de  Lacey,  who,  having  returned  from 
her  exile  with  a  full  pardon,  had  once  more  taken 
up  her  abode  m  the  cottage.    It  seemed  as  though 
she  sought  by  that  embrace  to  give  her  friend  a  share 
in  her  own  exuberant  vitality  and  in  the  wholesome 
cheerfulness  of  the  moment.     Evelyn  had  naturally 
dechned  to  be  a  guest  at  any  of  the  larger  picnics, 
since  the  death  of  her  father  was  as  yet  too  recent 
±iow  fane  >ou  are  looking,  Polly!"  said  Evelyn 
surveying  her  friend  with  sincere  admiration  and 
noting  the  various  details  of  her  costume,  worn  for 
the  farst  time  on  that  occasion.     It  consisted  of  a 
gown  of  green  and  mauve,  showing  glimpses  of  a 
petticoat   of   purple   velvet,    and   a   wide   bonnet 
tnnimed  with  green  and  mauve  ribbons.     Green 
stockings  and  fine  morocco  shoes  gave  a  last  touch 
to  her  finery,  and  emphasized  her  resemblance  to  a 
bird  of  bnght  plumage,  with  black,  shining  feet. 
Polly,  nothing  loath,  displayed  all  these  new  clothes 
which  she  had  specially  got  for  the  hohday,  then 
hnked  her  arm  in  that  of  her  friend,  and  began  to 
walk  with  her  up  and  down  those  garden  paths 
where  together  they  had  strolled  in  the  care-free 
days  now  past.   From  time  to  time  the  warm-hearted 
young  woman  squeezed  Evelyn's  arm,  crying: 

"Oh,  but  it  is  splendid  to  have  you  here  once 
more!    It  makes  Pinxter  day  the  more  joyful'" 


4S2    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

For  Evelyn  it  was  painful,  too,  though  she  did 
not  obtrude  such  reflections  on  Polly's  joyous  mood. 
From  childhood  upwards,  she  had  gone  forth,  usu- 
ally with  the  Van  Cortlandts  and  nearly  always  ac- 
companied by  her  father,  to  spend  that  festival  of 
Nature  in  one  or  other  of  her  rarest  haunts.  But 
not  by  one  word  would  she  dampen  that  joyousness 
which  had  seemed  to  spring  forth  anew  in  yotmg 
Vrow  Laureno  and  to  cause  her  momentarily  to 
forget  aU  that  had  been  dark,  dreary  or  unpleasant. 
Even  the  gloomy  and  fanatical  figiuB  of  Henricus 
Laurens  appeared  to  have  been  temporarily  elimi- 
nated, and  die  was  back  once  more  in  her  girlhood's 
days  with  Evelyn  in  the  garden. 

Carefully  avoiding  all  unpleasant  subjects,  the 
two  talked  of  the  latest  gossip  of  the  town,  of  be- 
trothals and  marriages  in  that  circle  wherein  Evelyn 
had  been  so  popular,  of  how  Lady  Bellomont,  by 
a  ruling  which  some  thought  arbitrary,  had  been 
prevented  from  leaving  the  shores  of  Manhattan 
till  the  affairs  of  her  late  husband's  estate  had  been 
adjusted  and  her  own  considerable  liabilities  settled. 
Peevish  and  discontented,  shorn  of  the  state  which 
she  had  affected  to  despise  and  probably  had  never 
really  valued,  the  great  lady  complained  of  Iieing 
thus  detained  in  those  colonies,  which  at  tl  --st 
had  seemed  httle  better  than  a  place  of  exile.  jUy 
told  of  the  eccentricities  of  Lady  Combury,  who,  im- 
pecunious and  grasping,  made  rounds  of  visits,  see- 
ing at  every  dwelling  something  which  she  coveted 
and  for  which  she  freely  asked,  so  that  the  towns- 
people got  into  the  habit  of  concealing  valuable  ob- 
jects when  her  arrival  was  expected.  She  further 
informed  Evelyn  of  the  storm  of  indignation  which 
had  been  excited  when  Her  Lady^p  had  employed 


fS  =SI£-4U-lAKa.gft  T 


PINXTER  MORN  ^^ 

gubernatorial  mansS  ?o£'Tot"r' w^^^P  '^' 
humorous  incidents  nf  +1=      r        . '^  related  many 

of  thesupSSoi^do?th''^  "'^''^""^^  t''^'-^ 
each  had  mde  her  esSjT  '^""^'"  *"  ^^^^^^ 

she  p;:,*crSch^^^aJts°^- •"  ^'^  ^^^i-'  "-i" 

teSJfrjSarS'f^^^^^^^ 
ment.    As  for  t^e  r^^  i"  domestic  manage- 

only  hold  up  her  haS^7„T^  '>""^'fj  PoUy  coSd 
he  was  a  sc^d  JtoThe  tow^°r''  ^'^  '^^^^'^''^  that 
-covered  by  the  Watch  p?!^'-''^'^"^  "^^^^  heen  dis- 
ieddedlyLdertllinfl     ^  »«  somen's  dress  and 

were  ben';Z^Tay„V£Tthe''r'".  ^'^^''^^ 
discovered  at  length  toThif.  I  ^'^^'^  ^°"^'  hut 
Governor.  TUs  som^W  .^T^?  *>*  '*  ^^^  the 
of  humor,  and  Pordecll^fhll  -f  ^'^"'^  ^"- 

friend,  fin^J  ^kh^i^^^^^'  T^'^'^  °^  her 
paused  wistf^y^Jthe  gate^^""'  "^^  ^^  «  ^he 
on i^^l^l"^'^' ^°«e.  Evelyn deaxest,  alone 

of  It  ?a^r^'Sd  t^th^'^Sf '  -  ^h^/'^-ght 
brance.  But  huSpHlw  •  ^' P^S  of  remem- 
clared:  ^^uniedly  forcing  them  back,  she  de- 

•^oni'Sl'^S'jr.^"  ^  ^'^''i"  Manhattan 
s    you  ail,  and  where  my  dear  father  seems  a 


I  .    f:  ;t 


■m-. 


I 


454    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

living  memory.  Later  I  will  take  Elsa  and  go  for  a 
walk  through  the  dear,  familiar  streets,  to  see  the 
Pinxter  growing  everywhere  and  feel  that  I  have  a 
part  in  the  festival.  Do  not  fear  but  that  it  will  be 
a  happy  one." 

Was  it  the  spirit  of  prophecy  that  comes  to  poetic 
natures  which  made  her  feel,  as  she  made  the  pre- 
diction, that  upon  that  day  of  rejoicing  some  joy 
was  to  shine  out  from  the  clouds  of  grief  and  deso- 
lation that  had  long  enshrouded  her?  She  leaned 
upon  the  gate  to  watch  the  departure  of  her  friend, 
and  then  turned  her  eyes  upwards  through  the  green 
of  the  tree-tops  to  the  blue  firmament  above.  It 
almost  seemed  to  her  that  her  father  was  near  at 
hand,  and  that,  as  of  old,  he  was  urging  her  to  the 
joy  of  spirit  and  to  delight  in  all  that  pertains  to 
youth. 

For  it  was  not  destined  that  she  should  spend  that 
day  in  the  society  of  Elsa,  who,  with  her  mother, 
was  once  more  installed  at  the  cottage.  Both  those 
devoted  domestics  were  more  solicitous  than  ever 
for  the  young  girl's  physical  and  material  well-being, 
contributing  no  little  by  their  warm-hearted  devo- 
tion to  remove  the  sting  of  loneUness.  The  mind  of 
Evelyn  that  morning  was  busy  with  many  thoughts, 
and  amongst  them  the  recollection  of  Egbert  Ferrers. 
The  memory  of  him  and  of  the  part  he  had  played 
in  the  drama  of  her  late  years  was  very  precious  to 
her,  and  yet  she  was  somewhat  perplexed  by  his  late 
course  of  action.  For  she  had  heard  some  time  be- 
fore, shortly  after  her  return  to  New  York  in  the 
good  ship,  "Mermaid,"  that  he  had  been  released 
from  prison  by  Lord  Combury,  and  had  even  been 
offered  an  important  position  in  the  Governor's 
Household.    Although  Evelyn's  trust  in  him  had 


PINXTER  MORN  ^55 

SgZrhe'shor  £  unaccountable  and  sad- 
to  elapse  before  Sing  £  1;^°"^  "^^^^^  °^  '^""^ 
pros  and  cons,  and  wondered  if  T"^"!'^  "^^"^ ''^^ 
informed  of  hw-  return  orif  ^^\^''  "°*  ''^n 
^ledhin^a.ayfJSCattaT"'  '"^'"^^^  ''^^ 

4S  rporhV^spirirs'^^r'  rt^.-  ^'^^  -^^^'-^'^ 

day  ^th  no  word  TcaptSn  pTrrer?  ^Thf'  '^'^^ 
quiry  that  she  had  ever  n^JttiJ  I  Tr  °"^  '"" 
was  of  Madam  Van  CortC  ij."'^^^  *°  ""ake, 
gather  in  thaTselfsame^^r^  '  f  '^^^^^^  ^^^  *»- 
forth  into  e^de  ThroldT..  ^^"f^  '^^  ^""^  g°ne 
some  constraint  foTthe  ^atSh.f  h^"'^^^^-'^  ^^'^ 
own  mind,  that  she  under^fnoH  f!^  ^^"  ''^''"'S  her 
left  the  colony  iS^eSvifw^^""^°'^"^^''^d 

prison.  It  was  poS  .h.  tSf  ^'J^'^*^  from 
ernor  had  made  ?hff .  '  ^*l?,.added,  that  the  Gov- 
she  did  not  iSw        ^  '=°"'^''°°  of  his  pardon,  but 

auS:^n^sS;1/5rsi°^,  ^r^'  .^ay.  she  would 
lover  to  cloud  The  gS^  „?  t^^  ^^™u'?«  ^^^  absent 
herself,  with  a  prouHpSf t  ^  T'^"';  ^^'  ^"'"^ 
would  wear  no  willow  S  L  m^f  f^J,  .*?^*  '^^ 
reproached  herself  for  thJ^^^uf^^"-,  ^^^  ^^en  she 
plied,  not  Sse  of  L'^'itn-r-'^^^'^^^^^t^- 
which  should  ensile  L,^7  mtnnsic  ment  of  hers 

iiniatetnithanSlirof  thf^^^^'^r^  of  the 
disloyalty  would  braKent  '      ""^"'^  "^^"^ 

disloy^?^"  ^e 'Sd'^'.r'  ^^  T^  ^"^^  father  of 
drink  in  Vloveh^wT"^  >?^  ^^'  ^>^ad  to 
wander  over  thSeia^to?h^'^  '""  "^  ^^'  ^^^^ 
or  a  tiny  fleck  of  wS^'a'n17h"eV?°"st^^^^ 
-  her  am.  a  mass  of  flowers  wSr-shf'haH? 


4S6    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

from  various  bushes  to  carry  over  later  in  the  da^ 
to  Madam  Van  Cortlandt,  who  had  remained  a 
home,  declaring  herself  too  old  for  Pinxter  jun 
ke  tings. 


m 


!  -    - 


CHAPTER  XIX 

A  PLEDGE  REDEEMED 

of  the  Creator,  she  sudd^°Ti'  t  '^""^  ^^''  ^°^ks 
her,  and,  turring  was  s«dHJ„i  ^"/""  ^*eal  about 
one  person  in  th^  worid  wS  '?'^T'"^  with  the 
heart-hunger  which  Sie  W  h  "^'1^  ^PP^  that 
consuming  her.  '  °^*^  '^en  aU  the  time 

stS^eTnV:^e^t?£";ith''"''^  ^'d.  "I  have 
day,  whidi  Zst  te  aU  jW^J  J!""  °"  ^our  Knxter 
Evelyn  loolrina  0+  J:.J"y  ana  no  sadness." 

tears,  Smfeglh^lSt  ^  "^'^"*-  ""^^  »to 
they  had  met.  The  yomil  ^f„  °'=^'?2  "Pon  which 
disturbed  by  tholl  ^^^  tt"  ^^' ^' ^'■'^  «""«what 
unlike  Evelyn-  but  ^f ',,•''*?  ^"^^d  to  him  so 
of  explanaS'and  irS^^ol^^murmured  wor^ 
tone,  he  said :  ^^^  *°  ^'^^P*  »  matter-of-fact 

reveS'Yci'SrieT^tTaJ  *"°  '^T^'J  *°  I°ve  and 

than  we  could  have  mlSfhi^T""'^'  u^'  ^^  ^^PP^^ 
And  to  please  Wm  we  musf^^"",*^^*  ^"^^^^^or.. 

"The  gardens  a^'aulL^  lJ-^>-,„^,-£  ;?^n^ 


|[:^.'!'|ij 


4SS    GERALD  de  LACEYS  DAUGHTER 

go  to  take  high  tea  at  five  o'clock  with  Madam 
Van  Cortlandt,  as  I  have  promised  to  do.  She  is 
alone." 

It  was  a  proof  of  their  absolute  trust  and  confidence 
in  each  other  that  they  talked  as  though  they  had 
met  but  yesterday,  and  had  belonged  to  each  other 
for  countless  years.  Nor  did  Evelyn  ask  a  single 
question.  Captain  Ferrers,  indeed,  threw  into  his 
words,  his  tone,  his  manner  and  every  glance  of  his 
eyes,  all  that  the  most  loving  heart  could  desire. 
He  praised  the  beautiful  picture  which  Evelyn  had 
made,  with  the  mass  of  flowers  in  her  arms,  when  he 
had  caught  that  first  glimpse  of  her  after  the  weary 
interval  of  their  separation.  He  told  her  how  the 
low  tones  of  her  voice  had  haunted  him  through  th" 
tedious  term  of  his  imprisonment,  and  that  he  had 
often  awakened  from  sleep  with  that  voice  in  his 
ears.  There  was  plenty  of  such  talk  to  fill  all  their 
wanderings  through  the  dearly  loved  streets  of  Man- 
hattan, where,  as  Evelyn  had  said,  the  geu-dens  were 
all  in  bloom.  Before  leaving  the  cottage,  like  two 
children,  they  had  helped  Elsa  prepare  a  basket, 
which  was  to  be  taken  to  Golden  Hill,  where  they 
intended  to  have  a  picnic.  Elsa  was  to  await  them 
there,  and  she  had  the  assistance  of  Jumbo,  who, 
having  a  holiday  had  presently  appeared  to  console 
himself  in  the  society  of  Evelyn's  maid,  to  whom 
he  was  formally  betrothed,  for  his  disappointment 
when  old  Madam  had  refused  to  order  out  the  family 
coach  and  accompany  the  picnic  party  to  the  peli- 


Meantime  the  two  who  had  been  so  happily  tmited, 
and  who  felt  as  if  they  could  never  weary  of  each 
other's  company,  took  their  way  through  the  Smit's 
Valley  down  by  the  Water  Gate  and  by  the  Maid's 


A  PLEIXJE  REDEEMED 


Delancey's  Orchard  past  tKr  '^'I'i  '''P'  '<=d  ^o 
and  finally  down  Crah  AVf,,^  g^"'*"''^='^'"neadows 

Rutgers  Partn  Bv  th„  PP'*'  'l'''^"^'-  towards  the 
Golden  HinhiohJsSscaTelv'T  '""^  ^^^^S 
•se  of  all  the  yellow  i^ainwV^  '^°^''''  ^''«'  Pi-ofn- 
name.  And  there  tTieyfoundh.AiT^'^  ^P°'  *'« 
had  prepared,  in  a  most  delthf  fV''''  ^^"""^  f^P'e 
waving  shadow  of  aTcLtt  !  !u  """"^  ""'''•'•  the 
which  they  werc'to  Jn^y  together  '^Th'^""^  ""=«' 
had  a  view  of  the  lower  stLs  of  Vl    *  *"  ""^^ 

over  the  East  River  the  ^nrfn  of  the  town,  and  out 
go  den  glitter  of  the  sun  We  an°d  tt"""  'k'"?'''  ''^'^ 
httle  npples  and  wavelets  ch«^-l'"''u  ^^'''^  '"'o 
children  at  play  as  if  in  IV  5  ^  "^""^  other  like 
of  jollity  thL  Lmtock-  crmv  fn"?H^"'*'  '^'^  -^P'^t 
rou^d  the  whole  town  to  laughter -ind'nT"™'"^.  ^^^ 
That  Pinxter  day  was  a  hl^l  .  '"'^"^'"aking. 

aU  she  had  gone  throuI^^^H  *?^  Evelyr,  after 
Piness  was  its  fittint  =  '  ^".'^'  '"  'ruth,  har,- 
festival  mere  v  si^%£i  accompaniment,  since  ,at 
flower  was  i^bS'f  J'^,:J'"?f.  when  the  Pi^.t^r 

dyed  with  love's  own  hue  give  forth'..''  ^  ''^'■ 
from  every  garden  ^       ^""^^  *heir  fragrance 

n-ttltsi^e^lS  ISJfif  'r,.^^  ^-er 
nungledonEgbertPeSniJ  -iH^,  '^"^  ''^^'t  was 
and  on  Evefyn'f  StTl„^£  ^f  i^r^^^'^''^^ 
They  spoke  of  the  politiSl  sta?!  P?^f,  ^^PP'ness. 
which  hari  settled  doW,  I^  ^  °^  *he  country, 

those  maa  excels  of^ or  ^^ff  ^"*  ^^'-^  after  aU 
lated  how  M^Solft  R°"^'i'\*'''^<^-  Evelyn  re- 
jnto  prison,  tried  atd°'"nlStX'^^"  '^^ 
the  most  oarbarous  manner^^al  Seated" 


a 


■  ps  ^  ill 


n 


460    GERALD  UE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

only  by  the  demise  of  Lord  Bcllomont.  She  further 
pointed  out  with  wonder  and  gratitude  how  their 
enemies  had  melted  away  one  by  one.  Captain 
Nanfan,  one  of  the  most  deadly  persecutors  of 
Catholics,  had  been  arrested  when  seeking  to  leave 
the  colony,  for  alleged  deficits  in  the  public  accounts, 
as  well  as  for  arbitrary  acts  when  in  pover.  On  his 
release  from  prison  by  order  of  the  Home  Govern- 
ment, steps  were  taken  to  rearrest  him  till  he  took 
refuge  on  a  man-of-war  in  the  harbor,  and,  leaving 
all  his  goods  behind,  sailed  destitute  to  England. 
Thomas  Weaver  had  fled  to  escape  arrtst  on  much 
the  same  charges.  Lord  Bellomont  was  dead  and 
William  of  Orange  himself  had  passed  into  eternity. 
They  touched  lightly  upon  the  subject  of  Captain 
Prosser  Williams,  which  Captain  Ferrers  knew  must 
be  deeply  painful  to  Evelyn,  and  the  successful 
rival  said : 

"!'  faith,  Evelyn,  although  he  has  got  nothing 
more  than  his  deserts,  there  is  one  matter  in  which 
he  has  my  sympathy,  and  you  know  very  well  what 
that  is,  since  the  fellow  had  the  good  taste  to  be 
stricken  to  the  heart  by  the  surpassing  charms  of 
one  we  wot  of." 

"I  own  to  a  feeling  of  pity  for  him,"  said  Evelyn 
gravely. 

"Not  pity  which  is  akin  to  love,  I  do  trust," 
jested  Captain  Ferrers,  with  some  faint  trace  of  un- 
easiness. 

"No,  it  might  well  be  akin  to  another  feeling," 
answered  Evelyn,  smiling,  "but  there,  he  has  gone 
out  of  our  lives,  and  all  our  sky  is  cloudless  and 
serene." 

Captain  Ferrers  had  kept  to  the  last  the  gravest 
matter  of  all  which  he  wished  to  discuss  with  Evelyn 


A  PLEDGE  REDEEMED  ^, 

"But  whv  in   Vhh^l    f^  '^"^  *''^""  marriage, 
laughed  Evelyn   '''vien  ffi  Vf  "'°  "^'^  ^o^ds." 
that  you  have'ck  oSThe  oid  o„"es  -  "^^^  ^*  '""^^ 

tha?^:re"„"  LSLlh'ofe'"  '^^'^  ^^^  '« 

since  his  release.    Then  she  adrH  ^'^^  ^^^  ^'^P^ed 

"But.  in  truth    there  are  t^  '"°'"*=  seriously: 

must  be  touched  ujon  Sri  such  ""^'i""'  ^^'^^ 
named  for  us."  ®"*^"  a  day  can  be 

beSt""  "Stude°of':f[  T"'  ""''  ''-d  slightly 
of  her  n.,  showed  deKcat'e  an^'  7  *>*.*''^  ^"^«^ 
feet  grace  of  movement  H^^  slender  in  her  per- 
color  by  emotion  and  Sys^th  Z\-  '^'^""^  » 
in  their  depth,  wandered  fronTthVi'^  ^"*  °^  ^^ness 
face  of  her  lover  out  over  X  c  r?^'*  ^"^  manly 
water.  She  was  apUlntll  no  "'^'*  f^^"^^  °f  the 
was  natural,  he^  he^w.l^Kf°?'P°'^''-  *^o"gh.  as 

to  the  ardent  plea^th^^an  "I  "'  '^'  «^'«"«d 
no  mind  to  diseuii  fm!^  ^^1r^*'°'"'  as  she  had 
loved  most  devSy  °'"  ^""^'^  °'  ^V  other,  she 

Ix^i^'X'yivTtfclJr""  ^^'---  "that 
my  impulse  t^S^^^T^J^^^^l  T'l^'  '*  ^^ 

a.a?i^," -s  f?o^  ?o-te-i 

to  be  conside^d  C^^d  ^7^  ^e7acS« 


-W';^' 

..|||-:. 

- 


462    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

Evelyn  still  listened  quietly.  That  sjmipathetic 
quietude  of  hers  was  one  of  her  greatest  chsuros. 

"I  made  haste  without  delay,"  said  the  lover, 
"to  the  Colony  of  Maryland,  where  I  sought  out 
Father  Harvey  that  he  might  pour  upon  my  head 
the  waters  of  Baptism,  conditionally,  since  I  could 
not  be  certain  that  my  mother  might  not  have  had 
me  baptized  in  her  own  faith.  There  was  but  Uttle 
delay  for  instruction  and  reading,  since  our  good 
Jesuit  had  already  given  me  books,  and  I  had  de- 
voted my  long  leisure  in  the  prison  to  study.  How- 
ever, my  dearest  Evelyn,  he  made  me  into  a  full- 
fledged  Christian,  administering  Baptism,  Penance 
and  the  Holy  Eucharist,  making  me  thus  a  soldier 
in  a  new  ai-my  without  prejudice  to  the  old.  And 
now,  my  love,  he  is  waiting,  as  he  told  me  with  a 
happy  twinkle  in  his  eye,  to  admit  me  to  another 
Sacrament,  in  which,  however,  I  shall  need  a  partner. 
He  bade  that  partner  to  make  no  delay,  and  so  I 
hastened  here  on  this  joyful  Pinxter  day  to  ask 
that,  as  this  token  of  your  love,  you  consent  to  our 
immediate  marriage." 

Evelyn  could  not  speak  for  that  first  moment. 
Her  joy  was  too  deep  for  words  at  these  tilings, 
which  were  beyond  her  highest  expectations.  It 
touched  her  to  the  heart  to  think  that  this  noble 
and  honorable  man,  to  whom  she  was  prepared  in- 
deed to  give  herself  without  reserve,  had  been  so 
mindfial  of  his  promise,  as  well  as  so  fully  convinced 
of  the  truths  of  the  faith  as  to  have  allowed  not  a 
day  of  his  freedom  to  pass  without  seeldng  Father 
Harvey. 

"Oh,  Egbert,"  she  cried  at  last,  "what  happiness 
you  have  given  me,  greater  than  I  had  ever  believed 
it  possible  again  to  enjoy!" 


A  PLEDGE  REDEEMED  463 

^t^^ySl'SV±°^'!^'l^<^'  and  took 
dress.  ^       *  ^y  '^y  »n  the  lap  of  her  black 

''mJ7  ^  '°"^*-"  ^^  >nq«red  eagerly 

"  Yo,;rSd  libt  to  S'.IT  ^f ""  ^-^  command." 
matter,"  cried  EgStFrne^'^  "-^^  !l?*^"  '"*«  the 
you  now  to  give  mVvo^  W'  ^^""l^^^Kl  "^  ^sk 
dents  to  whidi  you  refer  hinn/'  '^"«^  *he  inci- 

you  long  before  yoTrescued  th^     ■J^f"^'!  *°  '°^« 
saved  me  from  tw  n?w  u  *^  ^^'^^  at  Salem,  or 

not  object  Tmyl^n^ZuT'"'  '^"""^^  y°"  <^- 
those  happening  "         ^       ^  '°°'"^  °°  *^'=o"nt  of 

more  soberly  how  h  wo^d  ?J^'y" -P^^ntly  asked 
be  united  by  a  CathnH^T.  •  !  ^^'^^^  ^""^  them  to 
'''%ir¥y^^^^^'^^^^'''""  perform 
CapS'peJLT^i^Sl^t  leY  ■'  ^"^-^^ 
CatiSofe^^^e'S  ^^r^^  -P-«-  ^  ^--nd  loyal 
be  no  risk.^d  o^  „"i^  the  Quakers,  there  will 


"     '-■:l 


464    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

"This  very  day,  my  love."  said  Egbert  Ferrers, 
"we  shall  arrange  further  details  with  her  who 
has  been  your  earthly  providence,  Madam  Van 
Cortlandt." 

So  it  was  agreed,  and  the  waning  hours  of  that 
beautiful  day  found  the  lovers  at  the  familiar  house 
of  the  Van  Cortlandts,  where  the  bride-elect  had 
passed  some  of  her  happiest  hours,  and  where  Madam 
Van  Cortlandt  took  each  of  the  young  people  in  her 
arms  with  murmured  prayers  and  blessings.  Evelyn 
felt  her  heart  full  of  emotion  as  when  the  great  clock 
struck  five,  simultaneously  with  the  sounding  of  the 
gong,  she  sat  down  as  of  old  at  the  table  over  which 
Madam  Van  Cortlandt  presided.  There  were  the 
cold  fowl  and  the  home-cured  ham,  the  cream  and 
the  berries,  the  rich  and  varied  cakes  and  other 
sweetmeats,  and  there  was  the  warm  welcome  that 
breathed  upon  the  lovers  as  a  benediction. 

After  supper,  it  being  still  light,  the  three  sat  out 
upon  the  stoepe  discussing  their  plans,  with  the  radi- 
ance of  that  memorable  Pinxter  day  fading  into 
twilight  about  them.  Captain  Fen«rs  told  their 
hostess  of  his  hopes,  of  the  promise  Evelyn  had 
given  and  of  the  suggestion  of  Father  Harvey,  who 
some  ten  days  later  was  to  be  in  New  Jersey. 

"And  we  shall  see  to  it  that  you  are  there,"  said 
Madam  Van  Cortlandt,  addressing  Evelyn.  "I  will 
make  all  the  necessary  arrangements  and,  the  mar- 
riage ceremony  once  performed,  none  will  ask  fur- 
ther questions.  As  for  Lord  Conibury,  he  cares 
little  what  religion  we  profess,  nor  if  we  even  return 
to  heathendom,  provided  we  trouble  him  not." 

As  Captain  Ferrers  escorted  Evelyn  home,  they 
passed  by  the  tavern  of  Der  Halle.  Lights  shone  from 
every  window,  and  a  group  of  men  were  gathered 


A  PLEDGE  REDEEMED 


flat-bottomeTtal^'witl  n,'"?'"^t^°'"«"  «  th«r 
going  homeward  to  Se  B?""^"'  '"'^^^^^^  ^^^^ 
rowing  vigorously  ttie  while  1?^.^^^^^  ^'^"'e, 
those  famiUar  seines  wW^h  w    T^®  ^^^  another  of 

dear  for  she  had  not  ylSofj^^f  '^^  ^^^^  ''^'d 
and  deUght  of  being  iSn^on^l^?""  *^«  wonder 
and  m  the  town  she  lovJd  ThI.  ^^"^  ""^  P^OP'^ 
her  eyes,  moreover  at  th^'^c-  !-"^  gathered  in 
in  her  mind  in  connfctSn  ^'  hTv,*r ^  ^^'^"^  '°^ 
as  she  was  well  awSe  more  A  *^^*  P'^^^'  ^-'^re. 
drama  of  the  last  ™  had  h^f  ?"^  "^^^  in  the 

A  short  distancffrL  tl'^f "  P'^"?^<^  °"t- 
countered  GreatbptT^  u-  *^^^™  ^^e  lovers  en- 
favorite  LS^fanf  now  Sn"^^'°"«  t°-ardl  Ws 
m  his  mind,  sikce  the  rlst^nf  comparatively  easy 
had  been  mnch^^lLlf  '^^'^^^^t  srnngglJs 
cnmson  than  ever  andhi.uu^  ^^^  ^  deeper 
have  gathered  weih"  He  ."i^  ^/^^  seemed  to 
had  ^n  a  eho^t  tL         ^^oPPed  as  though  he 

He  pulled  o/bfhS^'^trfr*"'^  ^'^  ^fdy^" 
pulled  his  foretock  wia  som^r'^^^'*"'^'  ^d 
imploring  in  his  look,  ffis  Ws  Sr?  ^^^^  ^^ 
him.  Never  in  the  memor?n?N?^  ^  ''"^^'^  "°der 
sniuggler  appeared  so  mov^  ''^  ''^"^  '"an  had  the 

"fo/K^sSerdtnt^-  ^'^^^^  Bvelyn. 
momeT'iaS^-d  gravely  upon  him  for  a 
trembled.  ^  ^  P^^  ^  ^^^ath  and  her  Ups 

I  ^ghf^y  IharCmT?'  'ill*  ^5:  «°  a^«dent  as 
And  one  of'the  dirtW^^«-^^'*u'"'*  ^''^^  deed. 
in^o.that  ^nt^n^Z.^TZlfZ'^f^^ 


I'  '^i 


466    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

"I  forgive  you,"  Evelyn  said  at  last,  and  as  though 
these  simple  words  were  all  that  her  lips  could  frame, 
"and  I  pray  God  to  forgive  you  likewise,  now  and 
hereafter." 

The  girl's  words  had  a  still  more  pronounced  ef- 
fect upon  the  smuggler.  He  gulped  and  swallowed 
hard,  struggling  with  his  emotion,  and  he  winked 
several  times  for  the  teais  that  were  threatening 
to  fall  and  disgrace  him.  He  tried  to  speak,  but, 
after  more  than  one  ineffectual  effort,  he  turned  away 
with  a  parting  salute  of  his  forelock. 

"The  old  infernal  ruffian,"  said  Captain  Ferrers, 
"who  should  long  ago^have  been  hanged." 

"He  gave  my  father  a  sweeter  grave  than  life," 
said  Evelyn,  "and  after  his  fashion  he  is  repentant." 

Egbert  Ferrers  clasped  the  girl's  hand  tightly, 
and  they  moved  on  for  a  few  moments  in  silence. 
Then  he  cried,  impulsively: 

"Each  moment  I  see  some  new  trait  to  make  me 
love  you  more  dearly  still,  if  that  were  possible." 

"Your  love,  Egbert,"  returned  Evelyn,  "has  been 
the  supreme  gift  of  God  to  me  in  my  sorrow  and 
desolation." 

In  parting  at  the  gateway  they  were  silent  for  the 
very  lack  of  words  to  express  their  feeling  to  each 
other.  For  their  love  was  part  of  the  great  solemn 
mystery  of  life  which  had  enfolded  them  in  a  union 
that  should  never  end. 


hi    ,'' 
I 


CHAPTER  XX 


HAPPINESS 


a  memorable  event  SThTv«n  ^^f '  T^^  however. 
rfV^  B™"^  l^'  '*!"y  "°^^  ^''^  to  the  fex^ 


1;  ..ii 


468    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

disguised  coldness  and  distrust,  how  she  had  come 
as  a  merry  child  to  show  him  her  first  pair  of  beef- 
bone  skates.  He  exchanged  many  pleasantries  with 
the  two  young  men,  and  especially  with  his  new 
spiritual  son.  Captain  Ferrers,  and  made  many  jest- 
ing references  to  Evelyn's  Si  iem  adventures  and  his 
own  experience  with  Joy. 

"She  dressed  me  with  herbs  in  the  attic,"  he  said, 
"but  it  turned  out  afterwards  to  be  no  laughing 
matter  when  she  served  me  up  as  a  familiar  spirit 
to  the  witch  during  the  trial  at  the  courthouse." 

He  drew  Evelyn  apart  for  a  moment,  and  con- 
versed with  deep  feeling  of  her  father's  death,  telling 
her  how  well  he  had  loved  him  and  what  a  grievous 
blow  had  been  dealt  him  by  Gerald  de  Lacey's 
tragic  end. 

"Yet  we  cannot  doubt,"  he  concluded,  "that,  in 
the  gathering  of  the  elect,  he  is  looking  down  on  the 
happiness  of  this  day." 

The  good  priest  then  took  his  leave,  for  he  was. 
sorely  needed  in  one  of  the  neighboring  missions. 

"As  an  outlaw  and  a  hunted  man,"  he  said  mer- 
rily, ' '  I  must  take  time  by  the  forelock,  and  come  and 
go  as  best  I  can." 

When  Madam  Van  Cortlandt  expressed  her  in- 
dignation at  such  a  state  of  affairs,  the  missionary 
said  gravely: 

"It  is  marvellously  good  for  us,  dear  lady.  And 
after  all  the  servant  is  not  greater  than  the  Master, 
Who  had  not  whereon  to  lay  His  head." 

He  gave  a  special  blessing  to  the  wedded  pair 
as  they  knelt  before  him,  the  soldier-like  figure  of 
Captain  Ferrers  and  Evelyn  like  some  exquisite 
flower  in  her  white  bridal  gown  and  bonnet.  With 
this  blessing  of  the  holy  missionary  upon  them,  and 


HAPPINESS  469 

?eddS"4et£'"  ^'^"'^^'  ^^^y  ^«-  their 

Shortly  after  their  marriage  they  took  un  tJ,«r 

abode  in  the  cottage,  as  it  had  been  Evetyn's  de«e^ 

,T^J?  do-     Though  Captain  Ferrers,  halinfS 

^^tthiT  tX^'^l}^^  ^^""^'l  '^^  advantaleous 
post  which  he  had  been  oflfered  by  Lord  Comburv 

lelsK  Jhi':^"'''  '°r"'^  ^°'-  the  time  SgTt 

Hence  it  was  that  Mynheer  de  Vries  smotincr  nn 
his  gaUeiy  of  an  evening  or  stroUing  by  thelSfaee 
on  fine  mommgs,  had  the  undescAred  satirfSn 
tT^h^'  fair  neighbor  once  more  at  work  S  he 
garden,  though  his  manner  with  her.  when  thev  fti 

sTrS"^  ThV"^  *^™g-T^«.  lostliUle  of  itfcS^: 
stramt.  The  knowledge  of  his  wrongdoing  kept  him 
at  arm's  length  more  effectually  than  any  coldness  on 
her  part  would  have  done.  As  for  hTsSher  bftter" 
ness  and  chagrin  at  the  f-    ure  of  all  her  pkns  the 

SnS^^  '^^  '^'^  ?^  h  fellow-conspiratos  'and 
the  prosperous  marraige  and  other  blessings  which 
had  come  to  the  detested  Evelyn,  were  so  g^earthat 
they  nearly  brought  he.  to  death's  d^r^th  an 
attack  resembhng  apoplexy.  Her  mind,  after  that 
5ulK  "!,^J^^h  she  had  striven  to  emu  aL  £ 
husband  by  the  pulling  of  social  and  political  wires 
became  dun^  than  ever.  She  never  a^ain  atteiZfd 
to  go  beyond  the  range  of  domestic  fffai^S^fn 
deed  remained  more  than  ever  a  prisoner  T  her 

tth'^SSf" '°  ^'^  '^^^  ''^^  '^'  --  ^^^ 

wi^l*""!?  l^  >""^^'  *=°«t"'ne  of  white,  Evelyn 

iTct  to  n«  "'^^"^.  ^"f^  ^^^  ^^'"'l'^^  ^o^d  to  the  Co" 
lect  to  pay  a  visit  of  gratitude  and  friendship  to  the 


ill'  '!t 


470    GERALD  DE  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

good  Wilden,  who  in  the  time  of  need  had  befriended 
her.  She  dared  not  visit  them  as  often  as  of  yore 
lest  some  evil  tongues  might  stir  up  new  persecution 
agamst  them  or  her.  But  the  Silver  Covenant  of 
Friendship  that  bound  thsm  together  remained  no 
Idle  word.  Old  Monica,  as  of  old,  was  the  spokesman. 
She  expressed  the  gladness  of  the  tribe  that  the 
Eagle  had  won  the  White  Flower,  v/ho  was  as  beau- 
tiful as  ever  in  her  white  garments.  She  asked  from 
the  Great  Spirit  many  moons  of  happiness  for  the 
young  couple.  Also,  on  the  part  of  the  tribe,  she 
presented  them  with  rich  gifts  of  beadwork  and 
useful  baskets  and  mats  for  their  house.  She  offered 
a  wampum  belt  to  wipe  away  all  tears,  anothei  to 
bnng  joy  to  the  dwelling,  and  a  third  to  smooth  the 
path  of  life.  The  young  couple  were  not  outdone 
m  generosity,  bringing  with  them  a  variety  of  such 
gifts  as  the  savages  most  prized. 

Another  visit  which  the  newly-wedded  pair  made 
was  to  Lady  Bellomont,  who,  having  at  last  settled 
her  affairs,  was  on  the  eve  of  departure  from  the 
colony.  She  expressed  herself  as  much  gratified 
with  the  attention,  and  together  the  three  reviewed 
many  of  those  events  which  had  marked  the  brief 
and  stormy  regime  of  her  late  husband. 

"Do  not  judge  my  poor  Richard  too  harshly" 
she  said.  "He  had  the  faults  of  his  upbringing  and 
his  envu-onment,  and  he  fell  into  the  hands  of  evil 
counseUors,  notably  Captain  Prosser  Williams.  As 
for  you,  Egbert,"  she  added,  with  one  of  her  most 
winning  smiles,  "despite  his  harsh  treatment,  in- 
stigated by  your  archenemy,  he  entertained  for  you 
a  real  regard." 

In  parting  she  held  Evelyn's  hand  in  a  close  pres- 
sure, and  bending  forward  kissed  her  affectionately. 


HAPPINESS 


after  all  vf^toneiy-.P*""?  ^"'^  '*^^^'  ^"''^  herself 

heS„\"'roWept^'  ''•^^°'y  °^  tl^^'  hero  and 

which  attended  th^  colonv  of  m/"v  *^^  ^"'""es 
to  be  told.  This  eventw^^  ^^"^^  ^°'''''  'e'nains 
mansion  of  Km  wTf  r  i;rPi'°"  K^^^'"  *t  the 
many  yeaA  had  b^en    "  f^^'f^dt.  which  for  so 

It  wL^vTnSi  honor  of  t^f^"*^  '^""^  *°  ^^^lyn. 
ready  were  establl^hl^  .^  ^"HnK  couple,  who  al- 
It  had  l^n  posti^^^^^^^^  !r°"*^^  '"  the  colony, 
so  that  the  fi^t  'S  o  Evrfvn"Cr"  °^-  ^'^^  ^^^ 
be  over.  All  the  notables  of  th^  f  •"°"™>ng  might 
including  many  of  the  mnl^  ^    "^""T  ^^re  present, 

selaers  and  Van  CcrtU^Jl  oi  peace— the  Van  Rens- 
Dams.  the  SgstS  and  I^p^^haicks  and  Van 
and  de  Riemere^  me„  ,nH  ^  P^ysters,  Laurenses 
those ricS^ostCa^lrT^^u^i^^  ^^yed  in 

and  n,atrons'rNt^^SwSe' tt?d''TW^^^ 
rooms  were  thrnnm  ™j  noted.    The  large 

numberl^J™„Xs      T"  ^'^  '^^hted  with 

livened  the  ^^ion^i    ^  "'^  orchestra  en- 

and  rich  and  varied  scIiTlS^  ^ver   '"°"  ^'^^'''^^ 

base.     MySrV^L^tf't'w'^  *'^*^^  '^^ 
locked  in  his  breast  w!>«  ,^U  ^      u^^*  ^^cret  still 

ever  amongst  thTiriSn^  ^^""^  ^^  ^'^'^  ^« 
such  fragiients  o?^lo\;-o^  droppmg  here  and  there 

njinistratrafhfdSed'hrer^^Sle"^-  ^'^- 
-r  throughout  all  those  spTci^  ap^rtl^e^  ^^ 


tl 


47*    GERALD  de  LACEY'S  DAUGHTER 

though  an  iron  grip  had  been  relaxed.  Tnie,  thow 
prMcnt  were  disposed  to  ostracize  Lord  Combury 
and  to  condemn  the  proceedings  both  of  himseli 
Md  his  erratic  wife,  but  they  felt  themselves  to  be 
toen  and  thenceforward  masters  of  their  own  fate 
ITiere  was  an  air,  too,  of  expectancy.  All  were  await- 
«ig  the  anival— a  sign  and  symbol  of  that  new 
freedom,  smce  both  were  known  to  be  Papists— 
of  those  for  whom  that  particular  reception  had  been 
f ^^'n  «P'^*"  Egbert  Ferrers,  late  of  the  staff  of 
Lord  BeUomont,  and  his  young  wife,  who  was  popu- 
larly reported  to  be  even  more  beautiful  than  had 
been  Mistress  de  Lacey. 

Aiid  beautiful  she  was  as  she  entered  upon  her 
husband  s  arm,  though  under  all  the  radiant  happi- 
ness of  her  exterior  was  the  deep  sadness  that  no 
aftw-joy  could  entirely  eradicate.  In  her  hair  were 
a  thread  or  two  of  silver;  in  her  manner  the  inde- 
finable mark  of  one  that  has  suffered.  For,  in  all 
her  present  happiness,  she  could  not  forget  the 
tragic  death  of  a  father  who  had  been  also  her  friend 
and  companion. 

When  PoUy,  who  was  overflowing  with  delight 
at  the  recent  turn  of  affairs  and  could  never  rejoice 
enough  at  havmg  her  friend  once  more  at  her  side 
drew  Evelyn  apart  for  a  few  minutes  of  confidential 
tauc  the  two  m  the  course  of  conversation  touched 
lightly  upon  Lord  Bellomont,  whose  coming  and 
whTCe  stormy  years  of  government  had  marked  for 
Evelyn  an  era  of  tribulation. 
^_  "May  the  Lord  show  him  mercy,"  said  Evelyn 
and  so  I  pray  every  day."  ' 

"But  he  was  your  cruel  enemy,"  said  Polly  in 
amazement.  ' 

"The  more  reason  that  I  should  pray  for  him," 


HAPPINESS  ^73 

Then  she  added  more  lightly  • 
;:But  after  all  he  brought  J/too--" 

p«^%h^ohi!d^£r;;ea';:^  '°^^'"  -^^^  ^p*^ 

Evd^°^*   "^    friendship    and    memories."    saiu 
with  a  smile  that  spoke  toImJ^    ^  ^"°  '^^'^ 


The  End 


